The Lycans In The Wind
by Spam5192
Summary: A Sonadow Fanfiction. What if you had been living a secret? A secret so deadly, it could cost you your friend's trust, loyalty, even their lives. Sonic has to make a choice, to stay and live the lie or leave. But events occur outside of his control that turn his world upside down, and leading to a fight for survival, not only for himself, but for everything he knows.


The Lycans In The Wind

**Summary**

What if you had been living a secret? A secret so deadly, it could cost you your friend's trust, loyalty, even their lives. Sonic has to make a choice, to stay and live the lie or leave. But events occur outside of his control that turn his world upside down, and leading to a fight for survival, not only for himself, but for everything he knows.

**Chapter Contents**

Chapter One - Love, Life and Grand Prix's

Chapter Two - The Black Knight Rises

Chapter Three - Instinct Prevails

Chapter Four - The Badlands

Chapter Five - The Colony

Chapter Six - The Guard Chasers

Chapter Seven - It's All About Speed

Chapter Eight - Eggman

Chapter Nine - Two Hearts, One Soul

**Love, Life and Grand Prix's**

'Sonic The Hedgehog. That name, it is such majesty, speed, strength, power, and...' Sonic thought, as he sat there on his bed, thinking.

'…...fiction!'

Well it did, he never meant to lie to anybody, but considering that he wasn't a hedgehog, what else had he done. But he had had no choice. He couldn't tell his friends the truth. But there was some truth to his name. He acquired the name Sonic when he first broke the sound barrier at the age of two years old, and it had stuck to him like glue, whether he wanted it to or not.

He was in his room in Tails' house, a large house with two large bedrooms. One each for Sonic and Tails, and a bathroom upstairs, and a large open-plan lounge-kitchen-diner downstairs which was in a large L shape, the small kitchen was set towards the back of the house and the lounge towards the front. There wasn't exactly a dining room there, but a large breakfast bar which was doubled as kitchen work surface. The lounge took up all of the front of the house, along the longest edge of the L shaped room and there were sofas everywhere. All misshaped, all different sizes and colours. There was enough space to sit ten to twenty people. To the side of the kitchen was the staircase, which run up through the centre of the house and the other side of that was another large room. It was separate from the open-plan living space and could only be entered and exited by a single door. It was Tails' Workshop. Sonic had not idea what when on inside that room most of the time, but it was very grateful of it, the inventions that came out of there had saved his life on more then one occasion.

Even though this was technically Tail's house and Sonic was a permanent guest in his 'guest' room, Knuckles was another semi-permanent guest who could often be found lounging on one of Tails' sofas. But the kid fox did get a 'hell of lot of visitors' in Sonic's opinion, as almost all of their counter attack plans against Eggman were always derived at Tails' House. How the hell Eggman hadn't found them yet, was completely beyond Sonic's comprehension and right at that very moment, Eggman was the least of his concerns. He was still sat on his bed in his room. A large square room with the door in one corner and in his bed in the opposite corner, with a window next to it. Around the edge of the room there was a wardrobe, a chester draws, a desk and chair and a bed side table. In the centre of the room, there was a large amount of floor space, of which Sonic liked to just lie on the floor in the middle of it.

The room was white and very bland. Sonic had very little in material wealth, items he could truly call his own, but he did have a thing for photographs. Every flat surface was covered in framed photographs, most of which were of Sonic and Tails when they were small children. There were, however, photographs of everyone he called a 'friend'. Knuckles, of course, Cream and Cheese, Big The Cat.

Amy. Why she was there, he had no idea, she did his head-in but he had be seen in keeping up appearances.

Team Chaotix. Sonic smiled, when he saw that photo of Vector, Charmy and Espio. How those guys managed to make any money from their Detective Agency they ran was a mystery in its own right. But they were good guys and could always be relied upon if he needed anything.

The Babylon Rogues. Some people had asked Sonic why a photo of Jet, Wave and Storm was in his room. Sonic wouldn't have considered the Babylon Rogues as true friends but when it came to a Grand Prix, they did know how to have fun.

E123 Omega, Rouge and Shadow.

Ah...Shadow. Sonic eyes now fell on his black rival and his cheeks when scarlet, the smile broadening. The photograph of Shadow, was one of him looking throughly unimpressed at being caught on camera, especially by what he considered 'the annoying blue blur'.

Sonic had no idea what it was about Shadow he liked so much, everything, as far as he could tell and for years, Sonic had been forced for his feelings secret for everyone.

'Oh Man!' Thought Sonic, 'If Amy knew the truth about his feeling, she'd kill me. Heck, if Shadow knew the truth, he'd properly kill me too.'

Sonic felt dishearten. But then a funny image came into his head. Considering that he was immortal, if they both tried to kill and if he never died, it would make an interested love triangle. Sonic didn't fancy that. So he was damed if you do, damed of you don't. He'd rather take his chances with Shadow over Amy any day.

Sonic was indeed an immortal. There has been many times when he had thanked 'The Powers That Be' for giving him his immortality. Some of the fights he had had with Eggman, especially recently, had been deadly to point of actually successfully killing him. Only for Sonic to turn up a few hours later, claiming that Eggman had missed, and that he was that good. No, he wasn't, and Sonic knew full well that that fact that he was still alive today was because of his immortality, and that he should have been long dead, many years ago. Sonic had been debating between him and Shadow, who had died and rose from the dead the most. Officially, it was Shadow, because everyone knew he was an immortal, as Sonic had his own abilities quiet. Unofficially, however, it was close, but Sonic just had the distinct feeling he might be in the lead. He smiled at this, if only Shadow knew.

Sonic was not a hedgehog either. He may have looked like one, heck, he may have even smelled like one, but he wasn't one, and recently everything had been changing. Scent, for Sapients, was a major part of social interaction and more specific, finding a mate. You could look like a million dollars, but if the scent wasn't right, you were going nowhere. He didn't know how long he could hide the truth.

The Truth. Sonic smirked. How he had managed to hide his true identity for so long, he had no idea. Apparently, his ability to run at the speed of sound was perfectly normal as far was his friends were concerned. Sonic laughed. There was nothing normal about it, and how his friends had accepted this so easily, amazed him. He had made up some cock and bull story about being 'a guy with a talent for speed' but that was all it was, a story. His speed was a trait, as far as he knew, of a completely different species of animal, a species that wasn't even considered normal. 'Normal' society as what Sonic considered it, was where he lived, which was a strange combination of Humans and Sapients that coexisted side by side together. But Sonic wasn't 'normal'. He was a Supernatural.

Sonic was a Werewolf.

Sonic closed his eyes. His long, royal blue quills flowing down his back, shimmering in the sunlight through the window, his long legs, dangling over the edge of the bed, swaying too and fro, his cherry red shoes with the famous red stripe shining in the morning light. His white gloved hands supporting himself on the edge of the bed as he sat there thinking. He could hear movement coming from downstairs, his sensitive werewolf black nose and hearing told him that Tails was up and making breakfast, and for the first time in a long time, they were alone in the house. No visitors.

Sonic's mind when onto Tails. The fox was very trusting, maybe a little too trusting. If he found out that Sonic was a werewolf, how would he react? Betrayed, why didn't he tell him sooner? Or even worse, Lost. Sonic had been Tails' guide through life ever since they found each other and he couldn't just leave the kid fox behind. But if the truth got out, however, he may not have the choice.

Sonic had been doing some research into Werewolves over the years, and in 'normal' society, as he called it, in which he lived. Supernaturals such as Werewolves and Vampires are never spoken about, despite the fact that both species exist. The problem was the only other werewolf around to ask was him. He was alone, he had looked for others of his kind, but without any luck. He looked in the Archives on Angel Island, the inside of Angel Island was hollow and Knuckles had filled the space with an array of scrolls, books, manuscripts and parchments, creating quite a comprehensive library. Knuckles didn't like unexpected guests in his library, and Sonic couldn't research into Werewolves with that Echidna looking over his shoulder. So he had snuck in. The information he found there did not make for pleasant reading. According to the books, Werewolves were said to be brutal, bloodthirsty, savage killing machines and feared by everyone in 'normal' society.

Sonic didn't believe it, even if it was true. If it was, then he didn't want to be a werewolf anymore, as he was none of those things. The mere thought on taking someone's life, anyone's life, make Sonic feel great distaste. He was not a killer. But the thing was, all the books he read on the subject matter, said this about Werewolves. There had to be some truth in it. Which meant that if the truth got out about his true identity, then he would be expecting a lot a aggression from the nearby village and wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he was chased from the area. Like he thought, he may have no choice but the leave Tails behind.

But the books did tell him some other interesting bits of information about Werewolves, like for example, that puberty in adolescence doesn't start in a werewolf until he hits seventeen and continues all the way through until they reach adulthood at twenty-two. These changes include a huge growth spurt, a change of scent, more transformations then normal and increase in strength of the wolf instinct. Sonic found out this last piece of information, the hard way, six months ago, a fews days after his seventeenth birthday, his werewolf instincts began to get the better of him. That had never happened before. He almost bit somebody. Sonic was still teething from that day, he had read that werewolf bites can be fatal, and he had never forgiven himself for it. Sonic had never gotten on well with his werewolf instincts, or his 'inner wolf' as he liked to call him.

He was a pain in the butt most of the time, they were either fighting for control or arguing and recently he had caused Sonic serious trouble, mainly by trying to bite people. To say that Sonic and his 'inner wolf' were a split personality, would be considered brutal. They knew of each other existence, and could interact with each other. There was one and the same person, Sonic was the wolf and the wolf was Sonic, but just different sides. But in the end they shared the same heart, and if the heart desired that Sonic kill no one, than both Sonic and the wolf had to obey.

But there were some things that were happening to him, that were not mentioned in those books. The main one being that why, on this planet, was he born with with female groin if he wasn't a female. Sonic had checked, he had no nipples or teats or any other indications at all that he was female, just the groin. Even his DNA reading came back as male. He didn't look like a girl, he didn't smell like one, he, sure as hell, didn't act like one. He had a large tuft of fur at the front of the groin, representing where his pouch was supposed to be. From a distance, it looked genuine, but very up close and personal, you could tell that something was different. Sonic had never let anyone get that close. All male Sapients have a pouch on their groins where their reproductive organs are kept, with a small slit near the bottom for access in and out. Thats why male Sapients don't need to wear clothes, nothing can be seen anyway. Sonic played on the fact that he looked like a 'normal male Sapient hedgehog', so nobody ever asked any questions when things looked a little different occasional. He never worn any more clothes beyond the normal socks, shoes and gloves and had no intension of doing so.

Sonic was really confused by it all and that was an understatement. He had decided that it had to be a werewolf thing. Because of the puberty he was now going through, and the hormones being sky high, he was packing more testosterone than most. He was definitely not a girl, unable to get pregnant either. He may have had the groin of a female, but Sonic was certain it didn't work. That meant no kids for him, ever, but Sonic was too young, in werewolf terms, to think about that now and he would deal with that when the time came. He dreaded to think of what Amy would do if she found out and decided not to go there. Was this the reason why he was so seriously interested in Shadow?

The main thing that was concerning him at the moment was being found out was a werewolf, with his scent changing. Because scent is such a major part of Sapient society for identifying your friends and foes, when his scent changes, everyone would immediately know. They may not necessarily know what scent had changed to, but they would know something was different. Sonic was certain that Knuckles would know immediately he was a werewolf, when it happens. Sonic was not looking forward the day, but at the moment, it hadn't happened yet. He was safe. But he was very much aware, the clock was ticking.

Sonic opens his eyes, as he sighed, wondering how best to deal with these issues. But at that moment, he didn't get the chance to think about that now, as he stomach began to churn so violently, he found himself running to the bathroom with one hand on his stomach, the other over his mouth. Preying he was going to be fast enough to get to the toilet in time, to throw up down it. He made it, just.

"Okay, I have officially had enough of this!" He said to himself after emptying his stomach. He collapsed next to the toilet bowl, on the floor, feeling slightly dizzy. He had been doing this now, three or four times a day, for the last three weeks, and he had had enough. For a guy whose reputation was of one, who never got sick, this was extremely unusual. There was a knock at the door of the bathroom. It was Tails asking after him.

"Yeah, Tails, I'll be fine, just a bad stomach again." Sonic called back.

"Okay." Said Tails. "Would you like some food to try and settle it?" he asked through the door.

"Please." Sonic replied, hoping for something with meat in it, knowing full well it wasn't going to happen. He heard Tails move away from the door and back downstairs. Sonic rested his head on the toilet bowl. He cursed to himself, it was his own fault he was sick and knew exactly what the cause was. It was, of course, a werewolf thing.

It all started just under a month ago, just before the Grand Prix. Eggman had exceptional timing as always and had planned this Grand Prix to happen during the three days of a full moon.

Ah...a full moon. Next to Eggman, and then Amy, a full moon was the one thing he hated more then anything. It had been the pain in his life, all his life. Because every full moon, a werewolf transforms into a beast, strong, powerful and majestic. Sonic hadn't transformed into a beast or 'full wolf' for almost ten years now, because he had found a guy, through a friend of a friend, who was able to make a Werewolf Serum, for him. Taken three days before the first day of the full moon, stops the transformation dead. Unfortunately, there was one major downside of the Serum, the application. The entire Serum had to be administered directly into the bloodstream, within five seconds of the Serum of it hitting the bloodstream, and a single dose is very large. The net result was that the syringes were huge, a foot in length, with a three inch needle, and a nine inch casing full of the bright purple Serum, with an automatic release mechanism.

Sonic hated them, because he had to plunge the needle directly into his heart, which was excruciatingly painful, then struggle to hold still long enough for the Serum to be applied. Once inside, the Serum would calm his transformation symptoms, which would start a fews days before a full moon, and in the end, would make him feel better. It was for that reason alone, that Sonic put up with Serum, because the alternative, he just couldn't face. Therefore the black wooden box of a dozen syringes of Serum, he kept under a loose floorboard, under him bed, was he most prised procession. He still had three doses left, so all was well for now. He have to chase up more Serum soon, but not now.

Therefore, the Grand Prix happening over a full moon, was a far as Sonic was concerned, was not a problem. He would, as usual, take the Serum, and act like nothing was out of the ordinary. Or so he thought.

While Tails, and Knuckles were preparing their Extreme Gear boards, for the Grand Prix, Sonic had snuck upstairs, and took the Serum in secret, leaving two doses left, shuddering in pain was usual, then moved back downstairs to join them. They didn't notice he had been gone. They made their preparations for the Grand Prix and set out the travel to the location. It took nearly three days to get there. The Grand Prix was in the middle of nowhere. What was Eggman playing at? It took so long because they travelled by Tails' Biplane, and it wasn't as fast as Sonic. In fact it was incredibly slow, but unlike Sonic, it could carry the three of them, plus their gear. Sonic had complained for most of the journey. He was not usually this edgy. They landed at the Grand Prix, to find some of the teams already there. Sonic toppled out of the plane, landing awkwardly on feet, to strange looks from some of the other people there. He wasn't feeling too well. Tails and Knuckles looked at him, the way he was acting was extremely unusual, because Sonic was beginning to panic.

He knew why he was feeling unwell, and thats why he was panicking. He was feeling symptoms of the werewolf transformation happening inside him. His bones were beginning to ache and his organs were beginning to shift.

What was happening? The Serum hadn't worked. Why and what was going on? He didn't want to turn into a beast in front on his friends, not now, he wasn't ready for them to know. The transformation was going to happen and he couldn't stop it. Or maybe he could. He still had two doses left, if he could get home fast, take another dose of Serum and get back to the Grand Prix, he might be able to pull this off. Sonic began to prepare to run back to Tails' House.

"Hey. Where are you going?" Knuckles confronted him.

"Sorry, Knucklehead. But I have forgotten something back at the house." Sonic said, trying to act lightheartedly. Knuckles and Tails stared at him.

"Sonic, its miles away, and you could have mentioned this sooner." Tails said.

"Plus the opening ceremony starts in a few hours." Knuckles spat, folding his arms, looking throughly unimpressed.

Sonic shrugged this off. "Don't worry, Knucklehead, I'll be back in time." Because if he wasn't, they would be disqualified. Before either of them could say anything further, Sonic was off. Sonic didn't just run home, he bolted back in absolute panic. Sonic didn't think he had ran so fast in his life. He didn't break the sound barrier, he smashed it. He must have travelled close to twice the speed of sound that day. He had no idea. He made it back in record time, within an hour, and ran straight to the his room. He dived under his bed, an grabbed his back wooden box, opened it, grabbed one of the two full syringes and without even thinking, plunged it straight into his heart. He screamed out in pain, and felt the Serum immediately take effect.

He felt his strength return to him, his muscles became more toned, and finally, everything stopped aching, his organs returning to normal. After a few minutes, he felt a lot better, but still collapsed on the floor next to the his bed. Sonic sat there for some time, but then he looked at the clock and realised he had to get moving, if he wanted to get back to Grand Prix in time. He put the empty Serum syringe back in the black box and put the box back under the bed. He still had one dose left. So all was well for now. Sonic left his room as he found it, but noticed that his Extreme Gear glasses were on the side, he grabbed them on the way out, and left.

Unbeknown to Sonic, someone was watching him though the window.

Sonic made it back to the Grand Prix with minutes to spare, and then proceeded to win it it spectacular style. He pulled off moves he had never done before, at unbelievable speeds. Sonic's werewolf strength was growing everyday. Sonic was very much full of himself when they got back. Tails and Knuckles were talking about it for some time afterwards.

But it was within a fews days of getting back from the Grand Prix, that Sonic immediately regretted taking the second dose of Werewolf Serum, when he fell very ill indeed. He had overdosed, and now he was sick in bed, really sick, throwing his guts up every few hours. Tails and Knuckles were extremely worried, they had never seen Sonic so ill, in fact they had never seen him ill at all before, ever. They wanted to call a doctor in. That was not going to happen. He didn't want a doctor, poking and prodding in places he wasn't welcome. He majorly argued with Tails and Knuckles over this, but in the end, they submitted, letting Sonic have his way.

His werewolf instincts were seriously firing up and Sonic could just about cope with Tails' fussing over him, but Knuckles was a bit more heavy handed in his caring duties, and when he tried to put a hand on Sonic's forehead to check his temperature. Sonic's 'inner wolf' got the better of him and he made a bid for Knuckles' hand. If Knuckles' own instincts had not been on the ball that day, Sonic would have bitten him. Sonic's teeth snapped down on thin air, to Tails and Knuckles staring at him. He looked at them embarrassed. How could he so stupid? He apologised, claiming that he was ill, but he didn't think that they believed him anymore.

That was some time ago, and finally Sonic had stopped throwing up and was feeling a lot better. But Tails and Knuckles were acting very timid around him, did they know? But all that was forgotten, when a letter landed on their doorstep. They opened it, it was from Eggman. Another Grand Prix was underway, starting in less then a week, in a relatively local location. The three friends stared at each other, what was going on? Why would he hold another Grand Prix so close to previous one? It made no sense. But the three friends decided to go anyway, find out why Eggman would make such a move and solve the mystery. Sonic noticed that this second Grand Prix also landed on the three days of a full moon. Sonic panicked, but he just thought that it was a coincidence, nothing more.

'I still have one dose left of the Serum, it will have to do.' thought Sonic. 'But I'm going to have to take closer to time, so that it can be its most effective.' That meant taking the syringe with him. It was a risky move, but he had no choice, he didn't want to transform. They gathered their things together and prepared to leave. Sonic ran up the stairs to his room and opened the door and immediately stopped. There was a strange scent in the room. An intruder. Sonic's 'inner wolf' flared, he gritted his teeth and growled under his breathe. Sonic's eyes scanned the room, the intruder was long gone, but the window was open. That wasn't that unusual, Sonic's window was always open. He breathed in deep, and took a large lung full of the intruder scent, desperately trying to recognise it. But he didn't. He looked around, he couldn't see anything missing. Sonic frowned, why would an intruder enter his room and not take anything? It made no sense.

Sonic heard his name being called from downstairs, the others were eager to leave. Sonic sighed, he dived under his bed, to the wooden box, to grab the item he originally come up here for. The last dose of Werewolf Serum. He opened the box and what hit him first, was the scent of the intruder was even stronger from in box and second, the Werewolf Serum dose was gone. Now he knew the intruder had stolen from him and now he really panicked. Somebody knew. But that made no sense. Why steal the Serum? The only person it worked on was Sonic, as far as he knew, he was the only werewolf around, he had never seen another member of his kind.

Sonic began to pace his room, planning to run to his friend who makes the Serum to ask for more, but there was no time. Tails and Knuckles were getting very impatient downstairs. He had to leave now with his friends. Maybe he could figure something out later, maybe he'd get chance to run to his friend at some point at the Grand Prix. Now, that was all he had.

They travelled to the Grand Prix within an hour, a large local woodland area, but by the time they got there, dusk was falling on the horizon. Sonic tried desperately trying not to show his panic in front of friends. Team Rose, with Amy, Cream and Cheese, and Big the Cat, The Babylon Rogues, Jet, Wave and Storm, Team Chaotix, Vector, Espio, and Charmy, and finally Team Dark Shadow, Rouge and E123 Omega.

Amy, as usual, was all over him, but her hugs caused him great pain. The symptoms of the transformation has already starting and his bones and organs were preparing to change. The transformation itself doesn't actually happen until the moon was full in the sky, but it did make Sonic feel very ill before hand. His squeals of pain, caused Amy to let him go, causing her to stare at him. He tried to wave it off as nothing but he didn't think they believed him. Sonic looked around. He eyes fell on Shadow. He ignored him. Sonic's cheeks when pink but a tug from Tails caused him to move on. He moved towards the main tent where opening ceremony was to be held. He eyes fell on Jet as he entered. Sonic saw he was very smug about something. Sonic was now looking very pale now, and sweating uncontrollably.

"What's the matter, hedgehog, lost your strength? You don't look too well." Jet said to Sonic in a cruel voice.

"What are you talking about? I'm fine!" Sonic exclaimed. He wasn't fine, but he wasn't going to tell Jet that.

Jet moved up to Sonic, so close that there noses were nearly touching.

"We shall see about that, hedgehog!" Jet smirked. This tone of voice was unusually cold for Jet, more commonly found on Shadow. Then he smelled it on Jet. A smell that only he knew. The pungent, but faint smell of the Werewolf Serum. Sonic stared. The fact that Jet was now carrying the scent, meant only one thing. He had taken it. What was he thinking? How stupid was Jet? Sonic had found his intruder. What did Jet think it was? Some kind of 'Performance Enhancer' or something? He must have done. Was Jet really that desperate to beat him? Now the panic inside Sonic doubled, as he now had no idea what was going to happen to him, or Jet, when the moon came out within the hour. They stared at each other for a few more moments, until the music began to play for the opening ceremony and Sonic found himself be shunned to the side by Tails and Knuckles.

The next hour, was the longest hour of his life, and Sonic spent most of the opening ceremony staring at Jet, looking for any changes. But then he had to do his bit in the ceremony as the leader of Team Heroes. Forcing his eyes away from Jet, he did his performance, trying desperately hard not to shake. The symptoms were now worse then ever. People were staring at him. He grinned and moved to the side. Tails and Knuckles both looked at him as the ceremony ended, and as it did, Sonic looked around. He jaw dropped in horror.

Jet was gone. Now he really did actually panic. This forced Knuckles to grab him and shake him, hard.

"What is wrong with you? You've acting strange ever since we got here. What's going on?" Sonic wanted to tell him. Sonic was desperate to tell him. But he didn't get the chance. The large tent fell silent, as a blood curlicuing scream came from outside. Shear panic set in inside Sonic and with strength he didn't even know he had, he threw Knuckles off of him and ran in the direction of the scream.

He was the first by far to arrive at the clearing in the surrounding forest, to find Jet screwed in a ball on the ground, squealing in pain. Wave was knelling over him, it was her scream he'd heard. Storm standing to the side, worried. The three of them bathed in moonlight.

Moonlight! Sonic eyes went skyward, and real fear took over him. The moon was large, bright and magnificent round disc in the cloudless sky. Sonic buckled in pain, holding his stomach, but did extremely well not fall to his knees. He stayed on feet. But he did scream. The caused Wave to turn and look at him. Her eyes were in tears.

"What was in that stuff?" she cried. Sonic was about tell her, but she cut across him. "It wasn't performance enhancer, was it." She stared at him. Sonic shook his head. She cried her eyes out over Jet. He was changing fast, into what, Sonic didn't know. Sonic's own transformation was taking hold. He was fighting it with every ounce of his being. It had the inner strength to slow it but not to stop it.

"What are you?" she exclaimed. Right there and then, as the other racers and officials appeared behind him, muttering among themselves, he didn't know anymore. Tails and Knuckles appeared behind him. Tails rans to Jet's side and Knuckles place a hand on Sonic's shoulder.

"Please, someone get some help!" Tails cried and the officials left.

"You okay, big guy?" Knuckles asked Sonic in a soft voice, looking extremely concerned. Sonic shook his head, but he didn't get chance to say anything, when it happened.

Jet began to transform and fast. Sonic ran forward, extremely fast, grabbing Wave and Tails out of way. His body grew uncontrollably to an extremely large size, long sharp teeth appeared in his beak, the feathered exterior were replaced with long green fur. Jet screamed in pain, as bones were broken and reformed, tendons snapped and remoulded, creating a creature never seen before. Jet's wings turned into huge arms and his legs bust through his shoes, they grew very large. But what got to Sonic the was Jet's eyes, they went from a cool blue to a fiery red, on a cruel green background. Sonic saw that Jet's mind was now long gone, he was now a mindless beast, and snarling at them, on all fours.

People began to scream.

"RUN!" Sonic shouted at the top of voice. He temporarily forgot about his own transformation pain. "I'LL HOLD HIM OFF!"

"WHAT!" Several people exclaiming. Knuckles ran up to him. He grabbed him.

"Your not strong enough to take him on!" Knuckles cried, pointing at Jet.

"Not yet!" Sonic said to himself, but loud enough for him to hear. Knuckles stared. Sonic hoped that his transformation would be strong enough for this. He hadn't transformed in ten years, he really didn't know. Knuckles was about to argue with him, but then Jet attacked. With one swipe of his clawed hand, took out Knuckles but Sonic somehow managed to dodge it. Jet the monster, had his eyes fixed on Sonic. The monster made another attack at Sonic, but the surge of pain caught him off guard from his 'inner wolf' trying to get out, caused Sonic to take the full force of the attack, sending him flying into a tree. He hit the trunk hard, and landed on the ground. He was dazed. He remembered someone calling his name. He closed his eyes. Sonic finally gave up the fight, and let the transformation happen.

Sonic's 'inner wolf' came to forefront of his mind and took over. He began to grow, his muscles down his arms, legs and back began to bulge and increase rapidly in size. His hands grew out of his gloves, extremely long, sharp claws on the end. Large paws appeared on his feet, again with long, sharp claws, his shoes and socks disappearing. Sonic's fur began to grow extremely long, and tail also grew. His muzzle and nose began to elongate and his sense of smell exploded as everything came at him at once. His mouth began to ache as canine fangs and teeth began to grow in his mouth. He grew to the same size as that monster Jet, as he was turning from a hedgehog into a wolf, a werewolf. His fur coat went from being royal blue, to a dark grey, but only his eyes remained the same. Still bright green.

They remained the same, because Sonic was still in there. For the first time in his life, he embraced the 'inner wolf' inside of him. He merged with it, and felt the strength and power his new wolf body was now giving him. He also noticed that his incredible speed also still remained. All of these changes happened very quickly and very painfully. But Sonic's mind was not on that now. His transformation was complete, he was now a full werewolf, powerful, strong, fast and majestic, and now both he and his 'inner wolf' had one goal in mind. The same goal. To stop that Jet monster, and save his friends. He was not a mindless beast.

Sonic got to his feet, standing on all fours, three times larger then the average Sapient. His eyes were fixed on Jet, who was chasing after his friends. Knuckles had been hiding behind a tree next to him, and saw the whole transformation take place.

"Sonic!?" he said, unable to believe what he'd just seen. Sonic heard him and their eyes met. Sonic saw recognition his the Echidna's eyes. Knuckles didn't know exactly what he was now. A scream caused their gaze to part, as he saw his friends run back towards their direction. Sonic allows the Sapients to run past him, and then he jumped out with incredible speed and power, right out in front of Jet. The monster was snarling and seriously out of control, but Sonic knew exactly what to do. His wolf instincts were in charge now and telling him everything he needed to know. Sonic had allowed them to take over. Sonic snarled himself and jumped, at the same time as Jet, and the clash of the two fierce beasts was epic and the resulting fight brutal, extremely fast and very violent. Jet gave Sonic swipe after swipe of his large clawed hands. Sonic dodged most of them, he was faster then Jet but the monster was heavier. But he did take hits, his face and shoulders badly gouged and clawed. Sonic used in own hands and claws, swinging at Jet, getting hits himself, those evil looking eyes glaring at him. Now Jet was seriously on him, ripping at his back, Sonic through him off of him. Sonic then saw out of the corner of his eye, his friends now had a chance to escape. He saw Tails looking at him, tears in his eyes.

'I'm sorry, Tails.' Sonic thought, but he couldn't think about that now, because Jet grabbed him from behind and sung his teeth into flank. Sonic roared in pain, and rounded on his attacker. He grabbed Jet and sung his own teeth into Jet's shoulder. The monster roared. They moved and scuffled, fighting for dominance. This was a battle of shear brute strength. Somehow, Sonic forced Jet to the ground, on his front. Sonic stood on top of him, and moved his grip from his shoulder to the back of his neck. Sonic then proceeded to shake and maul the monster extremely violently, his claws digging into his back.

Sonic shock the monster like he was a rag doll. The monster howled and finally, fell silent. It collapsed on the floor, out cold. Sonic let his prey go. He lifted his head and stretched.

'OUCH!' Sonic screamed inside his head. He injuries were severe. His flank on his left leg was badly bleeding and his head was throbbing, also badly blooded. He was growling, heavily out of breathe, and as he looked around, he came back to some of his senses, as wolf instincts began to die down.

'Oh good!' Sonic thought. 'They all got away in time.' Speaking of his friends. There was a groan from beneath him.

'Jet!' Sonic sniffed his quarry. The monster was still alive. Sonic may have lost control during the fight, but he was relieved that when it came to killing, his heart still ruled. He would never kill anyone, monster or otherwise, full wolf or hedgehog. He lifted his head, and plonked his bottom on the ground.

'Ouch!' he thought again. He twisted around and began to lick his injuries, especially on his flank and leg. It did feel a bit better. He felt the moonlight on his back as he did this. This was who he was, a werewolf, and for the first time in his life, is was at piece with it. But he was the only one that was. A scream from behind him, broke Sonic from his train of thought. He looked behind him, and saw Wave running, very fast, towards him, her eyes streaming with tears. She had Tails, Knuckles, Storm, Rouge and Shadow on her tail.

"Hey, you MONSTER!" she screamed. "Get away from him!" She launched herself at him, forcing Sonic to move. She fell to her knees by Jet's side crying.

'What, wait!' Sonic claimed in his head. 'I'm not a monster, I'm not a murderer!' he thought in horror. Sonic noticed that he couldn't speak in his werewolf form. He didn't have vocal cords capable of speech.

Then all of a sudden, they surrounded him. Tails, Knuckles, Storm, Rouge and Shadow. Shadow with daggers in his eyes, smirking evilly, a pair of pistols in his hands, both trained on Sonic. Knuckles and Storm had his fists clenched, Rough ready to kick him. They were all looking at him with hatred in their eyes, at what Sonic has just done to Jet. They all thought he was a monster, a mindless beast, a murderer. Sonic turned a circle looking at each of his friends. He was very frightened, he had never been so scared in his life. What were they going do to him?

'Guys, please!' Sonic cried inside his head. 'I'm still in here. I'm not a killer, he's still alive.' He looked towards Jet. Tears fell down his face. He turned to each of his friends 'Tails, please, I'm here.' The kid fox looked scared. He got no reaction from him. He couldn't hear him. None of them could.

'Knuckles, Storm, Rouge, I beg you, please don't. I didn't mean to hurt him, I just wanted to stop him from hurting you.' Sonic thoughts cried as he tried to move towards them when he felt a cold, hard, metal pistol pressed up against his head, Shadow cocking the mechanism, it was armed, an emotionless cold look on his face. The smirk disappearing.

Sonic cried his heart out 'Shadow, please, don't kill me!' He thought, completely forgetting he was immortal. 'I swear I didn't kill him, I'm not a killer, he alive!' Sonic prayed deep down in a heart, he wished Shadow could hear. More now then ever.

'Shadow!' Sonic formed the words in head and throw them at him. Shadow's look was as emotionlessly cold as ever. Sonic saw the finger on the trigger of the gun move.

'Shadow!' he cried.

Nothing.

'Shadow!' He closed his eyes, waiting for the gun to go off. How could a hedgehog he loved so much be so brutal? Forming the word clearer then ever in his mind, shouting as though he had a voice inside his head. He let it rip. He screamed.

SHADOW!

Shadow jumped a mile, a look of shock on his face, lowering his guns. Everybody looked at him, nobody else had heard it.

"What the...! Sonic?!" He gasped and stared at the werewolf, they all did. Sonic heard his name being said, and for a brief moment, their eyes met. For split second, Sonic saw something in those black hedgehog's eyes.

But Sonic was shaking. He was so frightened that he saw Shadow's diversion as an opportunity and ran for it, pushing past him. He ran on all fours, extremely fast into the night. He had no idea where he was going but he had to get out of there. He noticed his friends didn't follow him, they must have let him go.

**The Black Knight Rises**

Shadow stood there, watching the werewolf run into the night. What had he just seen? What had he just heard? He had allowed the werewolf to push past him, he had let him go. He had seen something in those eyes of the that werewolf. They were eyes he knew, Sonic's eyes.

Shadow was deep in thought. He had seen more on the last few hours that he couldn't explain, then all of his life put together. He had seen Jet turn into that monster, and then see the werewolf violently attack him. Even in Shadow's opinion, the attack was brutal, the attack was savage. It surprised him. Shadow was a professional assassin, a contract killer, violence was in his nature, but even he found it hard to stomach. That was why he had pulled his guns on the werewolf, he wanted it dead. He felt threatened by it. He may have seen Jet turn into that monster, but he didn't actually see Sonic transform. Shadow smirked. Transform! Is that what had happened to him? What had happened to them both?

Shadow cast his mind to the blue hedgehog. Shadow found the him properly the most irritating person he knew. So jolly, constantly optimistic and when they were alone, ridiculously giggly. He drove Shadow demented, but he knew that the guy was harmless. He would never hurt anyone, let alone kill. Shadow could see it in his eyes, and from the large amount of white chaos aura that surrounded Sonic everywhere he when. As another high-level chaos creature, able to manipulate the Chaos Emeralds, Shadow knew he was the only one there who could see it, and it clashed beautifully with his own black, dark chaos aura. That was another reason why the hedgehog ground on his nerves.

Despite that, when given the choice, Shadow would take Sonic and his friends, over Eggman, any day, and that was exactly what he did. After his episode with the Ark after his first appearance, he had gone to them. He was received with a lot of aggression, and was asked to leave, but Sonic convinced his friends to give the black hedgehog a chance to prove his trustworthiness, which he since done, repeatedly. Sonic was the only one who stood up for him, and the question Shadow wanted to know was, why? He felt that he didn't deserve it, and felt he had never gotten a straight answer out of the hedgehog when he asked. Sonic would exclaim that that he gave everybody a chance. Shadow knew this was bull. There was a lot more to it then that.

He choose Sonic and his friends, because they never told him what to do. Requested his help, made suggestions, yes, but never gave him a direct order, which Eggman constantly did. He felt here that he was free, free to make a choice, to help them or not. Freedom was something Shadow's life had been constantly been lacking. Imprisoned from birth, forced to carry out orders against his will, freedom was something he cherished whenever it came in his direction. This low-life group of juvenile sapients gave him some freedom, and he was willing to put up the stupid antics to have it.

Since then, for most missions, Shadow had always been paired with Sonic. Shadow always hated this, preferring to work alone. Sonic, on the other hand, loved it, to Shadow's great irritation. But he had to admit it, the kid was good. In battles against Eggman, nobody on the planet could match him, on speed, power and the shear craziness of what Shadow could do. When the two hedgehogs were really on the ball, their teamwork was deadly. Not even Eggman would cross them, if they were together.

'Not bad' Shadow used to think. 'For a mere mortal!' he'd smirk. But after tonight, Shadow genuinely didn't know what to think. After years of working together, Shadow had grown rather fond of his blue rival, even though he still irritated him. He would often sort him out when bored, for a rival match or just for the company, and he was beginning to take huge pleasure out of bullying the blue hedgehog. Sonic was so naive around Shadow, the kid would just take the bait, every time. Sonic didn't make him feel like an outcast. He trusted him completely. Shadow got the impression none his friends did.

He knew that hedgehog. Shadow frowned. Correction. He thought he knew him. Could that werewolf really be his friend? Shadow's frown deepened. To say friend was pushing it. Allie, acquaintance, maybe, but true friend, no. There were only two people who fit that description. Rouge and E123 Omega. They had earned that title with him, and yet, he had spent more time with Sonic, then two of them put together. Why was he drawn to him? Shadow mentally slapped himself in the face, not quick believing he had just admitted that. He was not drawn to that blue idiot, Sonic kept following him about, claiming he just happened to be passing, a lot.

Shadow sighed. The moonlight shining down on his face and there was murmuring of voices behind him. Voices. That voice. His ears were still ringing from it. Shadow had noticed that he was the only one who had heard it. How was that possible? A migraine was now fully set in his head it had been so loud, but that was not what was concerning him. His name had been screamed at him, but he didn't exactly 'hear' it. It appear inside in head, right in the heart of his mind, completely out of nowhere, seriously making him jump. He instantly recognised it as Sonic's 'voice', but it wasn't what Sonic had said that got to Shadow, it was how he said it.

Shadow had never heard his name being said, with so much heartache, pain and shear desperation, before today.

'Actually.' Shadow thought 'There was one time before.' he paused and closed his eyes. 'Maria!'.

She had said his name exactly like that, just before she died, pleading with him to help the people of this planet. Shadow had never truly found closure over her death. He had accepted what had happened, but he could never truly move on. He had loved her too much. Shadow was a not a evil hedgehog, and despised anyone calling him such. He, unlike Eggman, had a heart. It was as cold, hard and dark as he was, but least he had one, unlike that pompous stuck up human. Shadow hated Eggman, it was one of the few things, Sonic and Shadow had in common, but for completely different reasons. Whenever Shadow worked for Eggman, he felt like he had lost some of his freedom, and he didn't like that.

Shadow was proud that he had a heart, but was very protective of it. It had a cold, hard shell around it and inside of it, was his compassion. Shadow was capable of compassion, but only at very specific times of his choosing. He loved Maria, she was the only person he had ever cracked the shell on his heart, got to the compassion within. Her death, had shattered his heart shell, ripped his compassion to pieces. This caused him so much pain, that he couldn't bear the same thing to happen again. It was why he was so defensive, why he never let anyone get close. Rouge had tried, and failed, spectacularly. He liked her, but as a work colleague and a friend, but not as a lover, he wasn't interested. Shadow didn't know what he wanted.

But that voice, Sonic's voice, inside his head, it had pulled on his heartstrings, causing a small crack in the shell.

'What!' Shadow thought. 'Why?' He wanted answers. Sonic 'voice' in his head had been desperate for him to stop, not to shoot him. If Sonic was that werewolf, then why did he attack Jet so violently? What was he trying to tell him? How had he done it? How did he speak to him that way? Shadow didn't know the answers to any of these, as he opened his eyes and turned around to face the mangled mess of fur and blood, that was Jet on the floor.

The other sapients were still staring at him and Jet. Confusion reigned. Storm grabbed him.

"What did you let him go for?" The large bird screamed at him. "He's killed Jet!" Now all eyes were on Shadow. Shadow instinctively came to Sonic's defence.

"No! He didn't!" He said, automatically, without thinking. Then it hit him, hard. Shadow grabbed Storm's large, beefy arms, and with a surge of unknown strength that seemed to some from the moon itself, Shadow threw the large bird off of him. Everyone backed off, as he wheeled around and ran to Jet's side, placing a hand on the monster's neck. Wave screamed and complained.

"Shut up, you stupid girl!" Shadow shouted at her, anger ripping through his being. "He's still alive!" Silence fell on the party, at they came to check for themselves. Shadow backed off, and let them. He was right. Now he knew what Sonic was trying to tell him. He wasn't a killer, and now Shadow believed him. But he still didn't understand what had happen to him. There was frantic talk amongst the sapients as Jet's life was confirmed intact, and they moved him to a better location. Correction, Shadow, Storm and Knuckles moved him to Tails' house. It was the nearest place that any quantises of medical supplies to treat Jet's injuries. The body of that Jet monster was heavy, and it was one journey that Shadow would rather forget and quickly. It took all night to move him, and it was breaking dawn by the time they got him there. Those stupid Grand Prix officials never did come back with any help.

They got him to Tails' house and plonked him on one the sofas, and the kid fox began to clean him up, with help of Wave and Rouge. Amy, and Cream and Cheese were at the house waiting for them, and when they were told what had happened, also helped. Dawn broke through the windows, as the sun was raising, rays hitting the unconscious body of the Jet monster. Shadow stood to the side, in the shadows, his back against the wall and watched. He noticed the body shrink at the sun beamed in through the windows. They all stopped and watched. Jet's body began to reduce rapidly in size, his large beefy arms and claws, became small feathered arms and hands, his muscular legs shrank back to normal. His monstrous teeth in his beak melted away back to nothing. His large furred hide going to his green feathered plumage. He body shrank back to normal as he lay there on the sofa. Something large fell out of his large feathers on the back of his head, and chimed at it hit the floor. Confusion hit, as Rouge made a break to pick it up.

Shadow stamped his foot on the floor, hard, making a noise so loud, it made them all jump. They stared at him. Shadow had the authority of the group now, as he walked towards item on the floor. Rouge backed off.

"What is it?" she asked. Shadow knew what it was, it was why he was acting this way. He picked up the item.

"Its a syringe!" he said. "Don't touch it, we don't know whats in it." Shadow stared at it. It was huge, the biggest syringe he had ever seen. There were remonstrance of the contents still inside the casing, a fews drops of a bright purple liquid. He put the needle to his nose and sniffed, in the hope of catching the scent of the liquid within. Shadow's eyes when wide.

"What the...!" He exclaimed. Shadow knew that smell. He was geneticist. He had been working with various chemicals on the Ark for years. Chemicals that could change and manipulate genes and DNA, but he had never come across anything as advanced as this. He knew them so well because of their distinctive smells. This was some kind on Serum. Shadow was certain of that. That was how Jet has changed. Shadow eyes fell from the syringe to Jet.

"He had taken this, hadn't he?" He rounded on Wave, she bust into tears. Anger dwelled up inside again. Shadow repeated himself to her again, sharply. She nodded.

"What!" Said Tails, "Why? What's in it?"

Shadow told them of his suspicions.

Wave cried. Shadow rounded on her again, time for some answers.

"We thought it was a 'performance enhancer!'" She cried. "Jet had seen Sonic take it, just before the last Grand Prix, through the window, upstairs. We thought that was why he won." This piece of news hit Shadow like a sledge hammer, and found it very hard to believe. They all stared at her. They were all silent, allowing Shadow to take the lead. Wave continued."He has a box of them upstairs, under a loose floorboard, under his bed. That was where Jet said he found that, it was the only full one there."

At that point, Tails disappeared and within minutes, he was back downstairs, the black box in question in his hands, shaking uncontrollably. The box was opened and it was full of empty syringes. Shadow didn't believe it. Knuckles when white, and swore very loudly. They all looked at him. Seeing Sonic change, Knuckles had had his suspicions of what he was, but now it was confirmed.

"He's a Werewolf!" All these years he had been living with a werewolf, and he never knew. Anger swelled up inside of him. How could he be so stupid? He knew how dangerous they were. They all stared at him.

"A Werewolf?!" Shadow said, disbelieving. He was also well read, he knew what a werewolf was, but as far he was concerned, they were myth, nothing more. He laughed.

"If Sonic was a werewolf, then why hadn't he changed before last night then?"

Knuckles pointed at the syringes. "They must stop the changes when a full moon raises. But if Jet took his last dose, leaving him with nothing, then he would change as well."

Werewolf Serum. Shadow had heard of these power chemicals, but again, didn't believe they existed. Jet began to stir. He opened his eyes to the amazement of all of them staring at him.

"What!" Jet gasped, with a very cracked voice, looking around. "What happened? Did I win?" He said very naively.

A mixture of anger and astonishment swept through Shadow.

"You don't know?" He demanded. Jet shook his head. Shadow smirked. Then he realised what Sonic had done. He had saved them. He had saved them all. But at what cost.

"You turned into a mindless beast, and tried to kill everybody. If it wasn't for Sonic, we would all be dead. You owe him your life, we all do. How he managed stop you without killing you, is beyond me!" Shadow exclaimed. He never thought he'd be saying that about Sonic in his lifetime, but it was the truth. Jet looked scared, disbelieving. Shadow took the syringe and told Jet the full story.

Shadow sighed. "Your incredibly lucky to be alive." Jet bust into tears. Shadow's thoughts turned to Sonic. He had wronged him, he was not a mindless beast. Guilt now swelled up inside Shadow. He threw the syringe back in the box and made for door.

"Where are you going?" Tails exclaimed.

"I'm going to look for him!" He said opening the door. Shadow didn't need explain further. They all knew why. He left, slamming the door behind him. For a moment, he stood there, his head in his hands. He was sweating.

'He had saved us!' Shadow thought. Shadow realised that he must have been living the secret for years, and he gave up everything to save them. Knowing he would be forced to leave if they knew the truth. He was a werewolf and they never knew. Shadow knew the stories, that Werewolves were brutal, bloodthirsty, savage killing machines. He frowned. That was not Sonic. He was proved that today. Shadow suddenly felt the crack in his heart shell grow deeper. He groaned. Why was he feeling this way? Shadow wasn't interested like that. Sonic was a male hedgehog, he didn't swing that way.

'Technically.' Shadow thought. 'That wasn't true.' He'd try anything at least once. He had done in the past. A single tear fell down his face from one eye. He ran. He had to find him.

**Instinct Prevails**

Sonic ran in absolute fear for what seemed like hours. Running on all fours, through forest and trees, fields and meadows. Even as dawn broke, and the sky filled with light and colour, he didn't stop. He didn't turn back to normal either. Sonic wasn't surprised at this. He had read that the werewolf transformation from a full moon lasts for three nights and the two full days in between. Sonic now realised that he was a full werewolf running out in the open, in broad daylight. He had to hide. He didn't want to be seen. Panicking, he looked around and turned back the way he came, into a forest, hoping for a dark place to hide out for the rest of day.

Sonic found the shaded canopy of the forest soothing, as the bright sunlight had been hurting his eyes. He finally slowed to search for a hiding place. He looked around sniffing the ground, he was growling out of breathe, the mouth dry, really dry. His acute sense of smell, picked up a scent he knew well, water. There was water nearby. He ran towards it and burst through into a circular clearing with a crescent shaped lake in it. In the centre of the crescent, there was a small sandy bank, leading to the waters edge. Sonic ran there and dumped his muzzle in the water.

He drank. The water tasted so good. Finally his fear and panic began to ease, but they let through what they had been masking. Sonic screamed out in pain. His howl rang out across the forest. The left flank and leg were still bleeding and in absolute agony. His head was throbbing, still blooded. Sonic's mind buckled up with the pain, but his 'inner wolf' fixed his eyes on the water.

'Oh, you have got to be joking!' Sonic thought, as his 'inner wolf' moved his broken body away from the water, and prepared to run.

'Wait!' Sonic squealed but before it could stop himself, he had made a run and jump into the water and landed with a very large splash. Sonic's body and head plummeted beneath the surface of the water, and Sonic panicked. He couldn't swim. What were his wolf instincts doing? But then, his 'inner wolf' came charging to the forefront of his mind, moving his arms and legs methodologically in the water.

'What the...!' Sonic thought, as he head broke the surface. He could breathe. To his total amazement, his head stayed where it was, it didn't sink beneath the water again. Sonic looked around, and his heart jumped for joy, he was swimming. It was the doggy paddle, but swimming, was swimming, and the pain in his left flank and leg, and in his head eased. The water cooled the deep cuts and bites, until they stopped bleeding.

Sonic felt like a million dollars, swimming around in small circles in the water. He stopped and thought.

'Thank you!' He said to his wolf instincts, they really did know what to do. They purred at him in response. They didn't completely hate him. Sonic smiled and made his way slowly towards the bank of the lake and pulled himself out of the water. He stood there, dripping wet on the sandy bank. Now Sonic really smiled, he had been wanting to do this for years. A Full Werewolf Body Shake.

He laughed. 'Pity no one was around to get wet.' He thought. He lowered his head, and screwed up his eyes. He began to turn his head from left to right and back again. Slowly at first but sped up. He allowed the shake to roll from his head to shoulders, and front legs, down his back, to his back legs. The shake was now in full force, spraying water everywhere. It felt fantastic. He shook for about five minutes and he perfectly executed the shake with an expert flick of his long bushy tail. He collapsed to the ground in a happy bundle of joy, surrounded by water.

But as Sonic hit the ground however, tiredness took hold. His eyes began to drupe. He had been running for hours, he'd be awake for even longer. He settled down on the ground, making himself comfortable, and closed his eyes. He fell fast asleep in the beautiful clearing.

Shadow ran across the open countryside beyond Tails' house. He was traveling at just over the speed of sound, so covered a lot of ground fast. His rocket shoes were leaving large black scorch marks on the ground, but Shadow didn't care. He headed back to where the Grand Prix had been and then on in the direction that Sonic originally fled. He travelled for many hours. Shadow's sense of direction was superb, he had a built in compass. He scanned the area ahead of him, left and right, with his eyes and his nose. Shadow had a feeling that he would smell the werewolf first before he saw him. The morning's events were still churning in his mind. He had to find his friend. Yes, Shadow did now considered Sonic a friend. His self sacrifice and willingness to give up everything he held dear, to save them all, rated very highly in Shadow's books.

So Sonic was a werewolf, not a hedgehog.

'So what!' Shadow thought. He judged a guy by his heart, not his head. Sonic had proved his heart would always remain true, whatever creature he was. But now he understood why the werewolf had fled. Why he was scared to tell them the truth. He had read the books, Werewolves had a reputation be being savages. Killing machines, feeding off sapients and humans alike. Werewolves had been hunted down and slaughtered for this, and for centuries, battles had raged between the Werewolves and the 'normal' people. That was some time ago, and Werewolves may have been gone, but the memories were still raw. There were a lot of people who still feared them, and Sonic was scared of what they would to him.

Shadow's heart fell. 'Thats no way to live a life!' He thought, in constant fear of your own friends. Shadow's mind was still on this, when he heard something that made screech to a halt. A long drawn out howl on the wind. It coming a forest on the horizon. He didn't recognise the sound but he recognised the voice. Sonic. The voice sounded like it was in great pain.

'I'm coming!' Shadow panicked, his heart shell cracking still further, as he took off in the direction of the forest. Sonic had managed to save his friends, but had he saved himself. Shadow remembered the fight. Sonic had taken one hell of a beating, and Shadow was beginning to fear the worse. He had no idea how strong Werewolves were, but that monster was huge. He didn't want him to die.

Shadow blasted into the forest and began to slow, searching for signs of his friend. He combed the length and width of the forest. He looked around. Nothing. He was sure that howl came from this forest. But something inside of him, told Shadow to use his nose, not his eyes, to search for Sonic. He stopped and frowned. This wasn't one of his usual instincts. He knew those extremely well. It was something far deeper, like an animal trying get out. He had searched the forest, the werewolf wasn't here. But these new instincts inside of him, disagreed, and told him, again, to use his nose. Shadow's frown deepened. What were new instincts? and why did they feel like a frightened, timid animal?

If there was one thing Shadow had learned over the years, was to trust his own gut. He had been betrayed by Eggman so many times over the years, that they were the only things left he could truly trust. Shadow submitted, and dropped to his knees, placing his nose to the ground. He felt very stupid, glad no one was watching. He had a reputation to uphold, you know. He closed his eyes and brought these new instincts to the front on his mind.

'Tell me. Where is he?' He thought, and sniffed. His mind and nose exploded with smells he had never experienced before. The leaves on the ground, the trees, flowers, and some other random smells he just didn't know. The new instincts were crazy, and before he knew it was sniffing around the ground in numerous different directions. Then it smelt it, a smell of dog on the ground.

'Not dog' Shadow thought, still reeling from the whole experience. He moved his nose around, trying to get a better grasp of the scent. 'Wolf, maybe.' He thought casually, and then his eyes when wide. Werewolf!

Sonic! Shadow followed the scent as fast as he could through the trees, as it turned off of one of the main path. His large sleek black body sliced through the air as he ran, his black quills with their magnificent red stripes, flowing out behind him. His white chest fur blown back against his chest, but getting grubby with the number of times that Shadow stopped to check the ground for Sonic's scent. It was getting stronger. The werewolf was here. But where, he still couldn't see him. He clenched his fists, his well defined muscles on his arms bulged. The red stripes down them rippling along the edge. His long legs were beginning to tire. He sniffed the ground again and saw that Sonic scent disappeared through a large bush ahead of him. Shadow tore through it and stopped immediately.

He was in a large clearing with a lake in it that Shadow didn't even know was here. He looked ahead of him. A large creature lay in front of him on the ground, dark grey in colour, long fur blowing in the wind. He had his back to him. Furred quills with white tips pointed up at him and a long bushy tail that lay still on the ground. The air around the creature filled with his scent, a scent Shadow knew.

Sonic! He'd finally found him. He ran round to the front of the werewolf, and immediately feared the worse. It looked like the werewolf had collapsed on the ground, in a heap. He wasn't moving. Shadow's heart fell, he fell to his knees and placed a hand on the werewolf's enormous muzzle. The fur felt damp, but soft to the touch. He looked around, the water's edge was quite badly blood stained. Shadow shed a tear for his friend. Then it happened, he felt a warm, moist breathe against his hand.

'What the...!' Shadow thought. But before he knew, the werewolf had rolled towards him very fast, on onto his back, right on top of him. The werewolf was extremely heavy indeed.

Shadow swore and cursed very loudly. Not only was the werewolf alive, causing him unnecessary heartache but was out for the count, fast asleep, and now, right on top of him.

"Dam you, Sonic!" Shadow swore loudly. "When this is over, I'm going to kill you." He said struggling under the immense weight. He didn't mean that literally, of course, he was too fond of him for that. He kicked with his arms and legs, trying to shift Sonic's weight. He was lying on his back on top of Shadow, his large fluffy paws sticking up in the air, eyes closed, growling under breathe, snoring his head off. Sonic's furred quills were digging into Shadow's back now and getting rather painful.

"Get off of me!" He shouted. Shadow's temper seriously began to flare. He dug at ground, trying to pull himself free. No luck. Now Shadow lost his temper completely.

"GET OFF OF ME!" He roared, and the werewolf finally moved. He was moved with a jump, and but was still lying on the ground, next to Shadow.

"Finally, thank you!" Shadow said, scrambling to his feet. Then he looked at the werewolf, and what he saw, immediately broke his temper. The werewolf lying on his front, his head on the ground, his eyes were barely open, looking up at Shadow. He was whining, terrified. Shadow dropped slowly to his knees, holding out his hand.

"Shhh, easy, Sonic. I'm not going to hurt you." He whispered, in the softest voice he could muster, not easy for someone like Shadow. He looked in Sonic's barely opened eyes, there were drowsy, really drowsy, and very blank indeed. Shadow stared. Sonic's eyes, always, whenever they were awake, had a large sparkles in them. Thats what singled him out as different from most people. Shadow expected no different now, werewolf or otherwise. But then Shadow realised something. Sonic was not in there. His mind was still unconscious. He had read about this in Werewolves, that their minds are made of two parts. The sapient and the 'wolf'. The normal mind on one side and the werewolf instincts on the other. They were both one and the same person but it intrigued Shadow. Was he looking at pure wolf here? This didn't phase him, or caused him any fear. He knew Sonic wouldn't hurt him. He lowered his hand to Sonic's muzzle, and placed his hand on it.

"Shhh, there we go." Shadow whispered, and the werewolf purred, closing his eyes and licking his hand. Shadow smiled. Joy filled him up as he realised that the werewolf was still Sonic. His heart shell cracked again, this time acquiring new cracks. This sent emotional tears down Shadow's cheeks. He didn't care, his friend would be alright. He closed his eyes and purred.

The werewolf suddenly groaned. Shadow opened his eyes and quickly frowned as he saw Sonic's injuries on the side of his head. Shadow then looked down the werewolf's body, to his left leg and flank. They had been ripped to pieces and were bleeding again. Dusk was falling all around them, it was getting late. But Sonic needed help. Shadow cursed to himself, as the werewolf fell back to sleep again. He was too big and heavy to carry back to Tail's house.

If he was going to get help, he would have to leave him. He looked around the clearing, it appeared safe enough. Shadow got to his feet, looking back at the werewolf.

'I'll be back soon.' He thought. 'I promise!'. He was desperate not to leave.

But he left away, racing through the forest and out into the night. Shadow may have had perfect night vision, but he didn't know the area at all, especially at night, and it was morning before he made it back to Tail's House. Tails was there waiting for him there alone, the others had left. When Shadow told him he'd found Sonic alive but injured, Tails scrambled his Biplane, filled it with medical supplies and took off. Shadow lead the way on foot. They were going after him.

**The Badlands**

Sonic slept, for two full days, before he woke. He hadn't realised he was that exhausted. He rolled onto his back, and immediately opened his eyes. He felt very different. He sat up, looking down at his hands. They had gloves on them. He looked down at his feet, he cherry red shoes and socks had reappeared again. He was back to normal. He placed he hands on his head and left leg to check, but is injuries were gone, fully healed. Sonic smiled awkwardly, so transformations heals wounds, does it. He noticed his transformation back to normal hadn't woken him, which meant he didn't cause him pain. Sonic was glad of that. He took a deep sigh and put his hands on his face, and took in a deep breathe through his nose. Sonic stared.

'What the...!' he thought, as his wolf instincts went mad. He was carrying a scent that was not his own. The foreign scent was quite pungent. He sniffed around. The scent was strongest around his muzzle, shoulders and back. Sonic rattled his brains. He knew that scent, but he couldn't place it.

Someone had been there with him. He looked around. Whoever it was, was now long gone. But his 'inner wolf' was going nuts over this foreign scent. He closed his eyes, and delved deep into the scent, now on his hands. Sonic immediately noticed that his highly acute sense of smell have remained even though he had transformed back to normal. He was getting a sorts of messages from this foreign scent. Pain, anguish, terror, anger, and calm. A lot of calm. He was also getting something else, deep within the scent, there was a smell so faint, that it was his 'inner wolf' who found it, not him.

Another werewolf.

'What!' Sonic cried in his head. Another werewolf. Here! He thought he was the only one. He quickly got to his feet and looked around, and stopped immediately, feeling very strange. His head throbbed as he had got up too quickly, and he put his head in his hands. He noticed that all of his teeth now had a sharp points to them, and all his canine teeth, both top and bottom, were now centimetre long fangs. Not very large compared to what he had had for last few days, but still. He ran his tongue along them, they felt very weird. His eyes fell to his arms, and he smirked. He'd always had muscles on his arms, but never this well defined. They were twice the size they were, before the full moon. He looked at his legs, they were the same too.

He felt strong, he felt powerful. The transformations had caused him to gain some weight, and most likely, some height, as well. His tail now had long fur running its length, it swished from side to side as he thought.

Sonic's eyes now fell on his groin. They widened. The large tuft of fur there, that made him look convincingly like a male hedgehog, was gone. He was a flat as a pancake. Sonic felt very embarrassed. He felt like he had to cover up. But there one thing for certain. He wasn't a male hedgehog anymore. He didn't look like one, be properly didn't smell like one either anymore

He was a 'whatever' werewolf. Male, female, he didn't know. He settled on male, for now, that was what he knew, and that was how he had lived. He had forgotten about the foreign scent, admiring his new stature, he was growing fast, but a loud noise above him, broke his train of thought. He looked around. Nothing. Then it came again, louder this time. Sonic panicked.

The Werewolf Hunters, they were coming after him! They had found him. After the show he'd put on over the last few days, he wasn't surprised. But he didn't want to take his chances, and took off into forest, away from the clearing. He ran through the dark forest, and out into the countryside, and bright sunlight. Sonic squinted his eyes, and was amazed by his own speed. He broke the sound barrier, with seconds of leaving the forest clearing, and was now travelling at just over twice the speed of sound, without too much difficulty. He'd had to seriously strain to make those speeds before, and only ever did running in blind panic. He still heard the loud noises from behind him, and pushed on. Sonic ran for a few hours or so. There a desert coming into view on the horizon, with canyons and ridges.

'The Werewolf Hunters won't find me in there' Sonic thought, and headed for straight for it.

Shadow was loosing his patients with Tails' Biplane. The stupid machine was so slow, he could have pulled that dam thing along the ground faster then it could fly. He swore and cursed at it, the entire journey. A journey that took Shadow alone, about half a day to complete, took Tails a full two days of constant flying. It was dawn on the second day, by the time they reached the forest. He had been extremely tempted to just bolt and leave Tails behind, the two reasons had stopped him. One, Tails didn't know where he was going, and like Shadow, didn't know the area that well, and two, Tails wasn't really old enough to be left alone in the middle of nowhere. Shadow cursed again.

He was fuming with Tails as he ran into the forest, heading for the clearing. He was almost there when he heard loud noises of an engine backfiring above him as Tails' Biplane was struggling. Shadow looked to through the trees, and saw the Biplane now had a trail of smoke behind it, but Tails was an expert pilot, and managed to steady the Biplane easily enough. Then he heard it. An noise so loud, he was like someone had dropped a large bomb, a matter of feet away from him. From the other side of a large bush. He knew that noise, and he knew that there was only one other person on the planet who could make that noise apart from him. The sound barrier breaking. He torn through the bush and into the now familiar clearing. Sonic was gone.

Shadow cried out as strong winds whirled up around the clearing from the shear power of the acceleration used by Sonic as he left. Shadow put up his hands to protect his eyes from the whirling sand. He gritted his teeth in absolute frustration. He'd missed him. But Shadow was amazed at the power used here, Sonic must have grown, and was almost certain that Sonic had transformed back to normal. But it made no sense, he had more power now then he had ever had before, he could see it in Sonic's chaos aura that was left behind in the clearing. He didn't look like he was injured any more. He had healed somehow.

All this, for nothing. Shadow roared in the anger and frustration of it all. If he'd known that Sonic would have healed on his own, then he wouldn't have left him. Now he'd gone, again. Now Shadow really wanted to find Sonic, get that kid's side of the story, find out they the hell he was playing at, and what the hell was going on, and then throttle him, for causing him so much trouble. Shadow didn't really want to throttle him. He just wanted to find his friend.

The Biplane was now flying above him. Shadow signalled Tails to land. This was a lost cause, they were not going to catch him now. But the plane didn't land, didn't turn or slow down. If fact, it got faster as Tails went full throttle in the direction that Sonic had ran in. Large noises came as it backfired again but stayed true.

Shadow cursed. How could that fox be so stupid? He ran. If Tails was going that way, so way he. He forgot about his manners, and went full throttle, breaking the sound barrier as he went. Out of the forest, and into the countryside, Shadow ran. Tails hot on his trail. But then the area in was running in began to get familiar to Shadow, really familiar, and soon he found himself screeching to a halt, knowing what was on the horizon. Knew the direction he was heading.

"Oh, you have got to be joking!" Shadow said to himself. Staring into the distance. Beyond the horizon, Shadow knew of a large desert, dry, inhospitable, and dangerous, and knew it was part of an enormous area known as 'The Badlands'. The Badlands were so called because they were numerous stories of people entering, and never coming out. They were completely uncharted, and the main reason why Shadow never set foot there.

'Sonic had gone in there. What was he thinking?' Shadow raged in his mind. Worry welled up for Sonic inside of him, his heart shell cracking further. The tears ran again. He couldn't take much more of this. He had to find him.

He heard Tails fly over his head, straight for The Badlands. The kid fox must have known where is was heading, but the Biplane was beginning to get lower in the sky. Shadow could foresee the Biplane crashing in heart of The Badlands. He panicked, he had no idea what was out there and ran after Tails as fast as he could.

**The Colony**

Sonic ran into the desert, and along the ridges and canyons. They was something about this place that made him nervous, but he didn't know what. The sun was hot on his back and neck, and Sonic knew he would have to find shelter soon from the scorching heat. He ran for about an hour. Ahead of him, there was a large canyon, like a large black scar in the earth. He ran alone side it, and looked down. He saw nothing but blackness but it did seem to have a bottom to it. Moved and ran down the near vertical edge of a enormous canyon, the largest Sonic had ever seen. The canyon was deep and he took a while before he hit the bottom. He hit the ground hard, and carried on along the canyon. He slowed. He felt better, it was a lot cooler down here, but he wasn't paying attention to where he was going.

He was caught in something, which rapidly brought him to a halt. Sonic panicked. He fought with it, it was a rope and wooden mechanism of some kind, but it was covered in something very sticky. The more he fought with it, the more tangled he got. He would have fought he way free given the time, if something hadn't thwacked him hard on the back of the head, knocking him out cold.

Darkness reigned, his brain swirled painfully, he was extremely dizzy. He had no idea how long he was out, but was extremely surprised to wake lying in a clean bed. He opened in eyes to see dirt above his head, the smell of the clean sheets filling his nose. Everything was blurry.

Are you alright?

Sonic jumped a mile at those words. He didn't exact 'hear' them, but it was like someone had gone inside the depths of his mind, and placed them there. He growled. His new world around him was slowly coming into view, he was underground, in a room, and someone was in the room with him.

Hey, don't growl at me, I only asked if you were alright!

Sonic stopped and stared, looking around for the source of those words, in the depths of his mind. His eyes fell on a person sat on end of his bed. At first glance, he looked like a male hedgehog, with a large round head, with large quills falling down his back. Large eyes and a small nose and muzzle. He arms and shoulders were curved and sleek, his gloved hands resting on his knees. He was a pale chestnut brown colour and had rich golden yellow, kind eyes, and a smile. Everything pointed initial to hedgehog if it wasn't for his scent. Sonic 'inner wolf' screamed at him.

Werewolf!

Sonic stared at his companion, and panicked, shifting in the bed. The brown werewolf looked concerned put out his hands to calm Sonic.

Hey easy, friend. I'm not going to hurt you!

Sonic stared. He heard the werewolf inside his mind, but he didn't see his lips move, didn't hear any sound.

"How are you doing that?" Sonic gasped, his voice cracked. His companion frowned.

Doing what? He asked. Again the words but no sound or lip movement.

"That!" Sonic whispered. "Speaking to me without actually speaking!" Sonic stared at the new werewolf, who promptly laughed at him.

Wait, your a werewolf, and you've never heard of 'Thought Speech'. Where have you been? Its how our kind communicated with each other, because we can't talk in our Luna Forms. He said. Sonic stared, their Luna Forms must mean their full werewolf forms of a full moon.

"Lets just say I'm not from around here." Sonic said, rather loudly. As he did, his companion lent forward and put a hand over his mouth.

Don't speak. He said using his mind. Your better off talking using 'Thought Speech'. The less noise you make around here, the better, we don't want to attract the attention from the colony guards.

Sonic frowned. Colony? Guards? What was going on? Where was he?

His new friend continued. You know how to do it, don't you? He asked. Sonic shook his head. The beige werewolf looked rather put out but didn't let go of Sonic.

Look. Form the words in your mind, as if you going the speak them with the mouth. But instead push them with your mind in the direction of the person you want to hear them. Try it. He added with a smile.

Sonic thought. He didn't really have much choice here. He formed the words in his mind.

'Like this!' He thought. Nothing from his companion. No reaction at all. He wasn't doing it right. Now Sonic really concentrated, forming the words in his mind and throwing them at the chestnut werewolf as hard as it could.

LIKE THIS!

The brown werewolf recoiled, letting go of Sonic. He rubbed his head.

Yes, but not quite that loud.

Sonic bit his lip in guilt, he really didn't mean to that. Sorry! He added. This whole Thought Speech idea was getting easier.

Thats alright. His friend smiled at him. What's your name any why?

Sonic. Sonic said. There other werewolf stared.

Unusual name for someone like you! He added.

Sonic frowned. What do you mean for someone like me? The chestnut werewolf shifted where he sat.

Sorry, I just expected a name to reflect your unusual coat colour, thats all. I have never seen a werewolf your colour before. Such a rich blue. Is it real? He said.

Sonic gasped. He looked around. Wait, there are others? His friend laughed.

Sure, there are others. He Smiled. Your in The Werewolf Colony, the last underground home of our kind. There are about a couple of hundred of us who live here.

Sonic stared. This news was epic, he wasn't alone after all. Then his new friend realised that Sonic really wasn't from around here.

Look, let me introduce myself, my name's Cyrus, and your in my house. You were caught on one of our sapient traps, and the guards knocked you out and brought you here. But when they realised that you were a werewolf and not a hedgehog, and therefore not for eating, they were unsure what to do with you. I was passing by getting some food when they brought you in, and I managed to persuade them to let me keep you, but only if you didn't cause any trouble. He sighed. Sorry about that. Cyrus looked dishearten.

Sonic processed this information in his head. It was a lot to take in.

That's alright said Sonic. But he wanted to cheer up his new friend. So, never seen a blue werewolf before?

Cyrus' heart leapt. No, I haven't. He squealed. Is it real? He said again.

Sonic nodded. His rich royal blue fur coat was genuine, he had been born with it.

Cyrus gasped. Sonic frowned.

What's the big deal with it anyway? He asked. His blue fur coat had never been a problem before. Cyrus shifted where he sat again.

Its just that blue is not a common colour for a werewolf. Sonic rolled his eyes. Figures! Cyrus continued. In fact, it has never been seen on a werewolf before today. That why we had trouble believing you were one of us at first. Never throughout the thousands of years of Werewolf history, has a werewolf been born with your colour. He paused for a moment. Sonic stared. You see, all Werewolf fur coats colours are all earth tones, brown, green, red, yellow, and very occasionally, black. But never blue.

Cyrus looked at Sonic.

'Great!' Sonic thought. Trying to hid out here and he going to stick out from a crowd badly, and there was nothing he could do about it.

So like I said. Cyrus thought. Your name doesn't really describe you.

Sonic laughed. Oh yes it does! He defended. But its not for the way I look, its more my personality! Sonic knew there was more to it then that, but he didn't fancy going into it right now.

Cyrus stared. Okay. He said. Sonic could tell he didn't really understand, and dropped the subject. Sonic grabbed the covers and swung his legs out from the bed and placed his feet on the floor. He sighed, he was now sitting next to Cyrus on the bed. The chestnut werewolf had plain black shoes on his feet, and Sonic realised how silly his own cherry red and white shoes looked next the them. Sonic was about to get up, when he had an uncontrollably pain in his stomach, screaming out in pain. Hunger was setting in. Cyrus got to his feet, panicking slightly, and grabbing Sonic's mouth.

Shhh. Look, stay here. He said, leaving Sonic shaking, sat on the bed. Sonic had no idea where Cyrus disappeared to but with minutes, he was back. He stuffed a large bowl of raw meat, on Sonic's lap, under his nose.

What's this? Sonic asked staring at the contents of the bowl.

Wild rabbit! Cyrus replied. Don't worry, its not Sapient. I don't go in for that stuff. But some do round here. He got up and walked out to the window in the room. He scanned out of it, looking nervous. He looked back at Sonic.

Oi! You idiot, eat, before you make yourself ill.

Sonic sighed. He had eaten raw meat before but never in these quantities. His host had been very kind and generous with him, and Sonic felt like he had to at least try. He groaned as the pain in stomach was back. He grabbed a piece of meat, placed it in his mouth and bit. His head exploded in a range of emotions as his 'inner wolf' woke up with a vengeance. It tasted good, really good, as Sonic realised he hadn't eaten almost a week. With hunger, and his 'inner wolf' getting the better of him, he ate the meat, and before he knew it, he had finished the bowl, and was licking it clean, feeling self-satisfied. Cyrus was smiling at him.

Hungry? he said. Sonic nodded.

Yes. He said. Thank you. He saw that Cyrus was still looking out of the window.

Problem? Sonic asked. Cyrus looked back at him.

I don't think so. He said. I was just checking to see if any of the guards heard you scream. But it doesn't look like it.

Sonic stared. What was he scared of? Cyrus seemed to read his mind.

Even though you can't tell where you are, it's after dark, and there is a strict curfew. Nobody leaves the colony, after dark. In fact, nobodies allowed to leave their homes, and there is strictly no noise. We don't want the outside world to know we're here. The guards go around patrolling the underground streets, checking. Break the curfew, and the consequences are severe. He shuddered.

Sonic got the impression that Cyrus had seen what those consequences were first hand.

Why so strict? He asked. Cyrus rounded on him.

Because we don't want the 'normals' to find us, not after what they did to our ancestors. Those brutes would destroy us if given the opportunity.

Hold it! Sonic said. Not all 'normals' are that bad. He cast his mind back to his friends. He believed that before the most recent full moon, but since, Sonic was now unsure.

How would you know! Cyrus spat, staring at him.

I've seen them. He said, but he then sighed. He didn't know to think anymore. But your right! He added. Cyrus stared, astonished.

You've seen them. Are you telling me that you've been in the presence of 'normals' and your not dead.

Dead! Sonic said. I thought Werewolves were immortals.

We are, to a point. Said Cyrus. But they have methods of killing, as we can be killed if the situation is right, or if not killing, making one's life unbearable.

So the immortality had its limits. Sonic was glad he hadn't found it yet.

Cyrus bared down on him. So how did you do it?

I made them believe I was an ordinary male hedgehog, a Sapient. Sonic said brightly. Cyrus continued to star. He didn't believe him.

Sonic decided to quickly change the subject. So what do we do now? He asked.

Cyrus sighed. Until morning. Nothing. He smiled at Sonic. So I suggest we try and get some sleep. You take my bed, I'll sleep through here. Cyrus indicated the bed Sonic was still sat on, as he made is way to the next room. Sonic stared as he left. Leaving him alone in the room. He lay back down on the bed. What sort of mess had he gotten himself into? He had running from Werewolf Hunters only to find a Werewolf Colony. He prayed that he didn't bring them here. Or had be been running from Werewolf Hunters? Sonic closed his eyes and cast his mind back to the clearing in the forest, and the loud noises above his head. Come to think about it, those noises sounded like Tails' old Biplane backfiring.

He sat up and put a hand over his mouth. What had he done? How could he be so stupid. They had come for him, to help, not hinder or kill. He had to go back. But he couldn't leave, not yet. He owed that to Cyrus. He had saved him from a lot of bother. 'Wonder if all Werewolves were like him.' Sonic thought. He suspected not, by the fact that some of them ate Sapients. He also suspected that he was in for an uncomfortable ride tomorrow. That meant he was going to need all the strength he had to escape if needed to. He lay his head on the bed again, and tried to get some sleep. He had a feeling he was going to need it.

Days and nights look exactly the same underground and it was Cyrus shaking him awake, that told him it was morning. There was a lot of movement outside of the window now.

"Morning!" Cyrus said brightly. Cyrus' voice was quite high pitched and bubbly, it reminded him of Tails. Sonic stared.

What! No Thought Speech. he said, automatic with him mind. Cyrus laughed.

"Don't need to during the day." He said. "The hot scorching sun of the desert keeps the 'normals' away, only at night have they ever ventured this way. Thats why we don't risk it." He pointed to the ceiling. His underground home was right beneath the desert.

"Hungry?" He added. "I have more meat in the kitchen." Sonic eyes widened and his stomach rumbled at the sound of food.

"Please." He said, and he got off the bed and onto his feet, and Sonic followed Cyrus into his kitchen. Sonic noticed that Cyrus was bigger then him, and much more developed werewolf. A few years older maybe, but not much. The bedroom had been a small square room with a window and a bed, and nothing much else. In the second room, however was larger, and Sonic saw that it was a kitchen, lounge, dining room all rolled into one, with a strange combination of earth, mud made furniture with electrical items everywhere. There were sofas made made of earth, everything was, including the work surface. But all the utensils were there, even a working fridge. Cyrus went to the fridge and pulled out bowls of meat for them both. They was all that was in it. Meat. About half full. He thanked Cyrus and looked around. To the side of him, the same side as the previous room was a window. It was extremely large and had no glass in it. There was a lot noise coming from it.

He wondered to the window with his bowl of food and looked out of it. He stared amazed. The window opened out onto, in Sonic opinion, the biggest underground cavern he had ever seen. He looked like it had been hollowed out of the very rock by hand. The cavern was the size three football pitches side by side, oval in shape and about four stories tall. Looking around the cavern, Sonic saw the windows of people's homes carved all the way around the edge. There were four rows of windows, from floor to ceiling, and Cyrus' was one of the higher most windows, giving a great view of the cavern below. On the floor of the cavern, it was full of people, all werewolves, jostling around, shouting, arguing with with each other. Sonic even saw some fighting. Sonic saw that one end on cavern, there was an small square arena, the seating all around the edge. Sonic could see it was full of cheering Werewolves, screaming for their champions, fighting in the centre.

At the other end of the cavern, was what looked like a market, except only one thing was for sale. Meat. Every different type of meat you could think of. Sonic stomach turned when he saw the arms and legs of dead Sapients down there, still with gloves and shoes on. Nobody he knew, thankfully. He turned away to look at the Werewolves themselves. They all looked like hedgehogs, and Cyrus was right, there was a range of different colours down there, brown, green, red, yellow, and one or two black ones, but definitely no blue.

Cyrus moved next to him by the window. "Impressive, no." He said with a smile. Sonic nodded. "This place was built by our ancestors many thousands of years ago, and is is the last true home of the Werewolf."

Sonic continued to look down. Around the bottom edge of the cavern there were large tunnels, which Sonic figured, lead anywhere and everywhere. Then Sonic saw a werewolf run along one of the tunnels and then be ran down by two extreme large, beefy, and mean looking blonde werewolves running on all fours. It caught Sonic's eye, because looked strange to see a werewolf run on all fours when not transformed because of the full moon. Sonic frowned. Cyrus saw where Sonic was looking. He shuddered. Sonic looked at him. He sighed.

"Those are the Guard Chasers. The fastest Werewolves around here. Nothing can outrun those. They are fast and they are dangerous. Get caught by one of those and that happens." He pointed down to the poor werewolf who just been caught, getting ripped to pieces, to howls of laughter. Sonic was horrified but raised an eyebrow.

'How fast can they go?' He thought, but he didn't want to find out there and then, not right now anyway.

Sonic watched as the poor werewolf being carried off, unconscious, by the two Guard Chasers, down a nearby tunnel. No wonder Cyrus was frightened, this society was brutal. He kept watching the Werewolves go about these lives, he noticed something strange about them. They were all male. They wasn't a single female down there. Where were they? He mentioned this to Cyrus. He laughed.

"Of course, we're all male. You won't find a breeding female around here. They tend to get locked away as soon as their born."

"What? Why?" Said Sonic, not really understanding. Cyrus looked at him.

"Don't you know what you are." Sonic shook his head. Cyrus stared but explained anyway.

"Werewolves are immortals. Supernaturals. They never die off, so if they bred normally, they'd overpopulate the planet within centuries, killing everything." Sonic didn't like that idea and neither did Cyrus. He continued. "So nature decided in order to control the population, only half of all Werewolves born, are capable of breeding. Therefore you get 'Breeding' Werewolves and 'Non Breeding' Werewolves. Everyone here, including you and me, are all 'Non Breeding' Werewolves, and we are all male."

Sonic stared, he didn't really understand. "So where are the 'Breeders'?" he asked.

"Not here!" Cyrus said, thankfully, seeing how brutal the society he lived in was. "I don't know where they take them. But thats all they do, the males and females in there, breed, all day, everyday."

"Thats not really a way to live." Sonic said thinking aloud. He looked down at his groin, it was flat against his pelvis, no pouch. It didn't explain why it was female. Sonic saw Cyrus' eyes had followed him and he smiled.

"What!" Demanded Sonic. Cyrus turned to face him.

"Don't panic!" He said. "I'm the same as you. We're both 'Non Breeding' females."

Sonic saw that Cyrus' groin was identical to his, but he still didn't understand.

"What?" He asked.

Cyrus sighed, trying to calm his new friend. "'Breeding' Werewolves are what you would consider normal. Its us 'Non Breeders' that are the weird ones. There are two different types, 'male' and 'female'. They both look identical, looking like male Hedgehogs, except for the groins, one has a male groin, with a pouch, and the females don't, even though neither of them actually work."

Sonic thought. "What was the point of that? Why have different genders if you can't breed?" It made no sense. Cyrus sighed.

"So relationships can be formed, and families put together. Not all Werewolves are like those brutes down there." Indicating out of the window. "Love is a part of our lives just as much as anyone else's. Non breeding males and females, get together for love and happiness."

"And do what?" Said Sonic. "Mate for the fun of it!" Cyrus looked at him.

"Well, yes." He said. "But its more complicated then that."

So Non-Breeding Werewolves were all considered males, until they got in the bedroom. Sonic laughed at that thought. It was a stupid idea, but one he may to get used to, as his thoughts turned to Shadow. He was male and Sonic a 'female' by the rougher sense of the word. Maybe he had a chance with him. Sonic knew it was wishful thinking, they was no way, NO WAY, Shadow would accept him as a mate. He'd be way too freaked out by it all, and would properly shoot him. Sonic looked disheartened. He couldn't give up on Shadow yet not until he'd at least tried. He finally had some answers, he finally knew who he was, a freaky cross-bred werewolf with the body of one gender, and the mind of the other. But he did know what he wanted. Shadow. It explained why he was so interested in him. But then something else crossed his mind.

"What if two non-breeders want a baby? What happens then?" Sonic wondered aloud. Cyrus stared. Werewolf society had been this way for thousands of years. Why would two non-breeders want that? They couldn't and it wasn't the done thing to do. The look of shock on Cyrus' face, told Sonic to drop the subject. If two non-breeders wanted a baby, they'd have start playing with genetics. His mind turned back to Shadow again, he was a geneticist. He smirked quietly to himself. He felt himself going very red. It was wishful thinking, something he would absolutely adore, but wishful.

Cyrus was looking sorrowful. It broke Sonic's train of thought.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Cyrus looked at him.

"Mate for the fun of it!" He repeated what Sonic had said earlier. He gazed out of the window. He smirked. "That would be nice." He said quietly to himself. Sonic grabbed his new friend by the arm, horrified.

"Hey! Is someone forcing you into it?" Sonic demanded. Cyrus' eyes filled with tears. Sonic took that as a yes.

"His name's Xander, and he's horrible. But big deal, it happens to all the non-breeding females round here. Thats what they do to us!" Sonic was dumbfounded, he got the impression that non-breeding females, like him and Cyrus, were second class citizens and nothing more then prizes, to those brutes, down there, out the window. Anger filled Sonic, he place his empty bowl on the ground, grabbed his friend and hugged him. He'd made a decision.

"Look, I'm going to try and get out of here." But Cyrus shook his head.

"You can't, its forbidden..." Sonic cut across him. He cried.

"And your coming with me. There a place I know where you'll be safe." Or at least it would be, if Tails took him in. No reason why the kid fox wouldn't. He was a friend in need.

Cyrus shook his head again. "No, I can't leave. It's too dangerous." He stammered. "The Guard Chasers!" Sonic laughed. Cyrus stared.

"I can outrun those things!" He said, waving them off as nothing. They looked like nothing compared to some of the robots Eggman sent after him. Now they were fast. Cyrus didn't believe him. He shook his head. No one was that fast. Sonic smirked.

"Time to show you why they call me Sonic. Let's go!" Sonic ran to the front door, and held out his hand. "Come on!" He said. Cyrus stood there, shaking, but finally relented. He hated his place, and did want to get out too.

"Okay!" he said, and took Sonic's hand. Sonic threw him onto his back as he opened the door. Cyrus clung on as they ran out into the corridor.

"That way," He said, pointing left, and Sonic ran. Cyrus' eyes went widen. He had never seen so much corridor disappear under their feet, in such a short space of time. They rounded a corner to find their pathway blocked, by several male non-breeders. Sonic turned round and saw that more had appeared behind them. They were trapped. Sonic span back round again, to find himself face to face with an enormous werewolf. He was a black werewolf, with long thick, matted fur, beefy arms and legs and glaring red eyes. He looked like Shadow, but that Hedgehog, was way better looking and a hell of a lot cleaner. He growled at them.

"Where are you two ladies off too?" He smirked. "Not supposed to be out are you. Wouldn't want you to get hurt!" He said. Sonic growled back in anger.

'So they lock non-breeding females in their homes, as well as rape them.' He thought. That was not fair. It was wrong, and it wasn't going to happen to his friend any more. He could feel Cyrus shaking on his back.

"Xander!" He murmured. Sonic stared. But the black werewolf noticed him.

"Cyrus!" He hollowed. "Nice of you to come out and greet me, you even brought a friend to play with. Nice looking too, unusual colour." He smirked, lip curling. The Werewolves bore down on them. Sonic held his ground.

"Hey, leave him alone!" He growled. Xander laughed.

"So the blue creature has a tongue. He'll make a very nice pet." He beamed. He made a grab for him. Sonic moved. The black werewolf missed. Cyrus still clinging on to him. Sonic growled.

"I am nobodies pet!" He said in a low voice. Then he saw it, a gap in barrier of Werewolves, he'd have to run up the wall and across the ceiling to make it. A serious bust of speed would required to get through, but it looked large enough. He gotten out of tighter spots that this with Eggman. Be bent his knees and placed one hand on the ground and one on Cyrus, hold him in place. He tensed up the muscles in his legs. He could feel his power of chaos speed growing. He whispered to him.

"Do you trust me?" He asked. He felt Cyrus nod his head, on his shoulder, terrified. Xander laughed them.

"Isn't that cute, their submitting to us!" He roared. Sonic looked up at the black werewolf. Anger had now really set in. He smirked evilly.

"Like hell, we are!" He scowled, and with that, he took off. With every ounce of strength in his legs he had, he released the speed, and ran. Up the wall, along the ceiling, and through the gap. They squeezed through with millimetres to spare. Sonic was in his element, as he noticed that the ceiling was less crowded then the floor, so sped along, expertly dodging the light fittings. Cyrus was unable to believe is eyes, they running along the ceiling, they were going to fall.

"No, we're not!" Sonic said laughing, reading his mind. He knew what speeds to go, to run along a ceiling so gravity didn't play a part. He done this way too many times before. Sonic could hear commotion from behind them. Cyrus screamed.

"They've sent Guard Chasers. We're done for."

'We'll see about that.' Sonic thought. The long corridor winded its way around outside of the colony, like a large spiral, past all the houses, until it came on the floor of the main cavern. Sonic came out of the corridor, jumped off the ceiling to land on the ground, and carried on running. He noticed a tunnel to the side of the corridor, and bolted down it. The tunnel was wider and longer then the corridor and must have stretched out for miles. He heard four Guard Chasers running after them and they were gain on them. Cyrus screamed again.

Sonic smiled. "What's the problem, I haven't even put my foot down on the accelerator yet." He looked down the tunnel. It was long and straight, he had the space to do it.

"What?" Said Cyrus. "What are you talking about?" He squealed. Now Sonic really smirked, as the Guard Chasers got even closer.

"This!" He released all of his chaos speed at once, and it catapulted them forwards, straight through the sound barrier. The noise was immense, it ricocheted down the tunnel behind them, causing it to shake violently. Boulders began to fall around them. But Sonic knew what to do, he dodged them with ease, and kept moving. At this incredible speed, he ran, from one tunnel to the next, leaving the Guard Chasers far behind. But Sonic was getting lost, each tunnel he headed down looked identical to the last. When all was quiet and at a crossroad junction point in the tunnels, he stopped. It looked safe enough, and he hoped to find some bearings.

Cyrus collapsed off his back on to the floor. He was out of breathe, trembling. He stared at Sonic.

"How did you do that? I have never seen anyone go that fast!" He said as he got to his feet. "You not even out of breathe!" Sonic shrugged.

'Na' Sonic thought. 'It takes more then that to get me out of breathe!' More likely, several days with Eggman on his tail. That usually did it.

"Can't all Werewolves do that?" Sonic said. "I thought it was a trait."

Cyrus shook his head violently. "No, just you! Werewolves are known their strength, not speed." Sonic frowned. He was felt sure his speed was a werewolf trait. If that wasn't the case, then where did it come from. Sonic now had the suspicion that it must have had something to do with the Chaos Emeralds. They must have given him his power of Chaos Speed. But How? Or Why? Sonic suspected that he would never know now, but he was extremely grateful. Cyrus was still reeling.

"That noise, what was that? I've never heard anything so loud before. It brought the tunnel down." Sonic sighed and smiled.

"The Sound Barrier!" He said, casually. Cyrus stared.

"What? A Sonic Boom? Here? Underground?" He stuttered. Sonic raised an eyebrow and laughed at his friend. He was getting it. Slowly. Sonic could see the cogs turning. Then Cyrus stared at him, amazement on his face.

"And that's why they call be 'Sonic'." He said under his breathe, smirking, looking around for any clues as to where they were. He asked Cyrus if he knew. He shook his head. He'd never been to this part of the colony before. Then they heard it.

OUCH! DAM YOU MONSTERS, GET OFF OF ME! The thought speech was so loud, it ricocheted inside their heads. Sonic panicked, he recognised that voice instantly.

"Shadow!" He screamed. He didn't how Shadow was able to use Thought Speech, but he was here, in the colony somewhere.

"You know that voice?" Cyrus asked. Frowning. Sonic rounded on him.

"He's a friend, a good person and I have to find him. Any ideas where he might be?"

Cyrus stared and thought. He owed Sonic his life, so he at least owed him this. He looked around. "Your friend isn't very far away." He said. "Thought Speech only has a limited range of where it can be heard, no matter how loud you shout." He began to look down the tunnels. He saw something down one of them.

This way! He said using his mind.

'Good move.' thought Sonic. If they were going after Shadow, the less noise they made, the better. They crept down a tunnel. It was extremely long and winding. It was some time later before they saw a light. As they got closer, they heard commotion in there as they looked though a window. They saw that it was a large room that has carved out of the very rock. There were Werewolves in there, chatting, drinking and eating in there. The rooms seemed to be separated into cells.

What is this place? Sonic asked, using his mind.

A Detention Centre. Cyrus replied. Their dotted all over the colony, its where anything caught outside is first bought in. I found you in one of the these. Sonic gulped. Now he was very grateful to Cyrus. Then Cyrus added.

Can you see your friend in there?

Sonic gulped again and turned from Cyrus to the window. The Detection Centre had about six cells in it. Most of them were full of rubbish and others were full of bones. It stank of blood and guts as the Werewolves inside were feasting on something freshly killed. Sonic heaved and his 'inner wolf' cringed. It wasn't for him. The poor creature was a wild animal, not a Sapient and there was some comfort in that. Sonic looked past the Werewolves, the each of the cells, looking for Shadow. Looking for a black hedgehog in a dark, black shadowy cells, was not going to be easier, but Sonic believed he was in there.

He kept looking until right at the very back of the furtherest cell, he saw them. Deep crimson red eyes, opening slightly, in the darkness. He'd found him. Shadow was in a bad way, collapsed on the floor of the cell, the Werewolves had badly beaten him up. But Sonic had to admit, it could have been a lot worse. Shadow must have scared them off by using Thought Speech. Sonic looked at Cyrus and nodded. Yes, his friend was in there.

Speak to him. Cyrus suggested. Sonic stared. He continued. If your friend can speak using Thought Speech, then he can certainly hear it.

Sonic stared at Cyrus as he realised something.

Won't the Werewolves in there hear me too? He asked. Cyrus smiled.

Not if you don't want them too. Only the person you want to hear you, can hear you!

Sonic sighed and concentrated.

Shadow?

**The Guard Chasers**

Shadow was in a right mess, and wished he had never followed Tails to this blasted place. Wherever this place was. He'd ran after Tails, as the kid fox had entered 'The Badlands' and as Shadow predicted, crash landed his Biplane in the heart of the area, near a large canyon. The sun was setting was the horizon when Shadow caught up with Tails. The kid fox was alright, unharmed from the crash, but the Biplane was a total write off.

'Great, now what do we do?' thought Shadow, as night fell all around them.

"Shadow!" said Tails, looking scared. Darkness set in fast, and soon it was pitch black, leaving the kid fox blind. Shadow, however, could see. His perfect night vision, gave the layout of the land ahead of them. He looked back at the fox, and cursed. Babysitting was not what Shadow had had in mind, but he couldn't leave the fox behind. Shadow remembered that Sonic used to grab the fox and carry him on his shoulders. Shadow mimicked him, grabbing the kid fox by the arm and throwing him on his back. Tails screamed, but quickly realised what was happening, and instinctively clung on to Shadow back, shaking. This left Shadow's arms and legs free, and the kid fox has so little weight to him, that Shadow nearly forgot he was there.

'Now!' Shadow thought. 'Time to get out of here!' He looked around, hoping to go back the way they came. But then he had a problem. Even though Shadow's night vision was superb, incredibly detailed, it was in black and white. No colour, and the landscape looked identical every way he looked. He would need daylight the navigate properly. He cursed again. He had to pick a direction to travel in, they couldn't stay where they were. He ran along the canyon that Tails had crashed near too, it was a place to start.

What was he doing here? Shadow knew the answer to that. His curiosity had gotten the better of him. Apart from freedom, there was another thing in his life, he craved. The new and the different. Two things that rarely showed themselves in his life. Shadow was more then twice the age of Sonic or any of his friends, and had been there, and done that for most things. He'd seen it all, and found life rather mundane and boring these days. So when he saw that beast attack Jet, he was intrigued. So to then find out it was Sonic, and that he was a Werewolf, and that they existed, really intrigued him now. It was certainly new and very different.

Shadow's mind turned to Sonic. He had been looking for a way of the desert. He had forgotten his blue counterpart was still in here. He cursed. That stupid hedgehog was going to get them all killed. Shadow smirked. Could he still keep calling him 'Hedgehog' even though Sonic wasn't one anymore. He snorted. Had he even been one to begin with? Shadow didn't know or care for that matter. He was on a mission. He rolled his eyes, old habits die hard with him.

Shadow continued running along the canyon and turned a corner around a ridge. He cursed again. Everywhere he looked, looked identical to the last, in the black and white darkness. He felt like he was getting lost, a feeling he hated, with a passion. He could still feel Tails on his back, shaking, but staying silent. A blessing.

The he felt it. Deep inside of him. Those new instincts, that had first showed themselves in that forest when he was looking Sonic. They were back, and telling him to be careful. Very careful. There were some unusual scents on the wind, he didn't know them, but his new instincts did. He frowned. How could his instincts know something he didn't? That made no sense. What were these things? They were getting stronger by the second, as Shadow continued to move through the desert. It was getting extremely cold now. Shadow decided that their best chance was to find some shelter for the night and move again in the morning. But they didn't get that chance as Shadow ran round the next ridge. Something jumped them out of the darkness. Tails screamed.

They were large, fast, and very hairy, and to Shadow, they stank. But it was a smell that Shadow had recently gotten to know. He had smelled it on his blue counterpart.

Werewolves.

But it wasn't Sonic. Shadow didn't know who they were in the darkness. They had jumped at him, he had dodged one of them. Or more accurately, his new instincts had dodged it for him. They seemed to know what to do. They made him lower his head, and growl at them. Shadow was only to happy to oblige. They ran at him again, Shadow jumped and ran aside. They missed, the two rounded on him again. They looked bizarre. They were Werewolves alright, but looked like they were halfway through a transformation, half Sapient, half Werewolf, running around on all fours. They looked strange, but they were fast, as they ran at him again. Shadow noticed that he was faster, as he ran along the edge of another canyon, the creatures hot on his heels. Shadow saw he was coming to a rocky outcrop in the landscape and it was forcing him to take a left.

He did, and found himself in the jaws of a third Werewolf, he didn't even know was there. It had been lying in ambush for him. Shadow temper flared and he tried to fight off this monster. Suddenly, the other two where on top of him, and he felt something being yanked from his back.

Tails. He heard the kid fox scream, as one of the monsters grabbed him and ran off with him. Now Shadow really lost his temper, as the two remaining sung their teeth into him arms and shook him violently. Shadow swung punch after punch at these monsters, but they seemed to have the edge on him. One of the beast grabbed his leg and pulled, the other jumped on him and grabbed the back of his neck, forcing him to the ground. Shadow growled at them, shouting with every ounce of his being at them, but he was then so violently shaken and mauled but the Werewolf on top of him that he lost consciousness, he mind falling into darkness.

When Shadow finally came round, he probably had the worse migraine in his life. Every cell of his body was ached, every bone, every muscle, the back of his neck bleeding. He was lying on his side, on what felt like a floor. A manmade floor. He opened his eyes, and was surprised to see himself in a cell, a prison of some kind. He could hear noises above him. He looked up. The two Werewolves who attacked him were feasting on flesh, and roaring at each other. It stank.

He was grateful to see that it wasn't Tails. He looked around, the kid fox was gone. Shadow heaved. He had to find him, he was his fault the fox was no longer there. He was was about to try and get to his feet and make a move, when he heard it. But he didn't exactly 'hear' it. He stared.

Shadow?

His name, that voice. Deep inside his head again. How was he doing it? He had to be his imagination. He lay on the ground and closed his eyes. How could be mind be so cruel to him? He didn't know, but he wanted it to stop.

Shadow?

There it was again. Sonic's voice ringing through his head. He put his hands over his ears, curling up into a ball. Leave him alone. He wanted to find the werewolf, some would even say, desperate. Shadow felt more cracks appear on his heart shell, he cried out. This was just plain cruel. He wanted to find his friend, that was all. This was his fault, his mess.

Oi! Faker! Get a grip!

Shadow's eyes snapped open, his mind instantly locking itself back together. It wasn't his imagination, the word 'Faker' had confirmed that. Sonic used to call him that, all the time, when they first met, but the nickname had worn thin, and hadn't been used in years. Is was not something everyone would know. He unfolded himself and looked around on the floor, concentrating. Sonic was here, he knew it but where? And how was he able to speak so deep inside his mind like that? Shadow was desperate to know, but didn't want to attract the attention of his guards. He looked around, squinting in the darkness, then he saw them through the window. A pair of green eyes he knew very well.

He'd found him.

**It's All About Speed**

When Shadow finally looked up at him, Sonic realised that he had heard him. He jumped up and down in so much joy, that Cyrus had to calm him, otherwise they'd be found out. Sonic looked at Shadow, he couldn't make out his injuries through the window.

Shadow, can you walk? He asked.

Shadow stared. How was he going that? How was he able to place his words so deep in his mind? He felt the muscles in his arms and legs, they ached but felt strong. Yes, he could get up, he could walk. He looked up and nodded. He was all he could do to respond.

Sonic smiled at that, but then quickly thought. How were they going to get him out? He looked at Cyrus for suggestions. He shrugged.

Can't you use that speed of yours somehow? He asked. Its the only weapon you have against them. Those are Guard Chasers in there. He shuddered.

Sonic stared. Cyrus was a genius, and told him so. The chestnut werewolf went red.

Cyrus looked back at Sonic. So what do we do? He asked.

Sonic smiled. I need you to distract them, I'll do the rest! Cyrus stared, he shook his head. He had charm but not for Guard Chasers.

Sonic rounded on him. Do you trust me? He asked again. Cyrus nodded. Sonic wheeled around and looked through the window. He saw Shadow still lying on the floor, but his chaos aura had been building, healing him, he was like a coiled string ready to pounce. He was ready to move.

'Perfect!' Sonic thought. Now to tell him the plan.

Shadow, I have a friend out here whose going to distract those monsters long enough for me go in a speed kick their butts. If you can blast your way out of that cell, I'd love for you to join me. These guys are not as fast as they look, not against pure chaos speed. It'll be just like fighting Eggman!

Shadow rested his head on the ground and rolled his eyes. It's a stupid, hair brained idea, but extremely typical of his blue counterpart. I guess there were some things that hadn't changed. He looked up of his Werewolf guards. Sonic did have a point, they were fast, but when it came to pure chaos speed, he and Sonic were kings, and Shadow saw weakness. He smirked back at the window, he liked this plan, despite its stupidity. He was ready.

Sonic beamed at Shadow's reaction and looked back at Cyrus, to make a move.

Go on, I've got your back! Sonic encouraged. He crouched down, letting his chaos speed build up inside of him again, he knew Shadow was doing the same in his cell. When it happened, it was going to be fast. He gave the signal to Cyrus.

Cyrus sighed heavily and muscled up his courage. He ran for the door of the Detection Centre, and went in. The two Guard Chasers stopped and stared at him.

"What!" He said cheerily. "No meat left for me!" The two Guard Chasers growled at him. Sonic and Shadow knew that this was their cue and let it rip, the both of them releasing their chaos speeds at the same moment. Shadow jumped up in his cell, rolled into a ball and span. The resulting circular saw blasted through the cell door, as though it was paper. Sonic had done the same outside, jumping up, curling into a ball, creating his own circular saw that blasted into the Detection Centre behind Cyrus, causing him to duck for cover. Then they were on top of them, the two hedgehogs, expertly working together, dive bombing the Guard Chasers. They swung at them, they bit at them, but they were too fast. Cyrus had never seen such speed. Finally Shadow got the two monsters on the head, knocking them out cold, then he ran for it. He didn't want to stay in that place any longer then was necessary.

Sonic saw him bolt, and ran after him, grabbing Cyrus on the way.

Hey, Shadow, wait up! He called. But it was after running down several tunnels, breaking several sound barriers along the way, Shadow finally stopped. They were in the middle of nowhere again. Shadow was out of breathe, so to was Sonic, that fight was fiercely fast. Cyrus stared at both of them. Two werewolves, that fast? It made no sense. He stared at Shadow. He looked like a hedgehog but smelled like a werewolf, was that even possible? Where did he come from? Cyrus was frightened.

Shadow was heaving, he finally found his quarry and he wanted answers. Sonic looked around.

Hey! I think we lost them! He said, so both Cyrus and Shadow could hear. It was the last straw for Shadow, as he lost his temper with the blue werewolf, grabbing him by the scruff of his neck. He swore and cursed.

"What is going on? What is this place? And how the hell are you able to do that?" He shouted at Sonic. Shadow had had enough of Sonic's games. Cyrus panicked and ran between them. He could tell that they were friends, from the way they had worked together. A bond like that is only formed after spending years together. Cyrus figured that he had the right to be angry, which is why he told Shadow everything. Shadow listened as Cyrus spoke. He told him who he was, where they were, about the Werewolf Colony. Where had had found Sonic and how Thought Speech worked. He figured that Shadow, like Sonic, didn't know how to use it. Shadow listened in disbelieve.

"But I'm not a werewolf!" He gasped.

Cyrus stared. Then why do you smell like one then! He sounded rather put out inside their heads. Sonic stared at Shadow, and sniffed. That scent, his 'inner wolf' when mad, he knew it. It was the werewolf scent that been on him, when he woke up in the clearing in the forest. Shadow had been there for him. Sonic felt himself go red. He did care after all. Shadow looked rather bothered.

Come on Shads. You don't know what concoction of DNA and chemicals Gerald Robotnik used to create you. He may have used some Werewolf DNA. So what! Your fast, your strong, and your immortal. Welcome to the Club! Sonic grinned.

Shadow stared. But the blue werewolf did have a point. He genuinely didn't know the true combination of DNA Gerald had used to create him, but if Werewolf DNA was in there then it meant that... He sighed as he decided to he'd give Thought Speech a try. He found it a lot easier then he thought he would be.

So how come I don't transform with a full moon? He smirked, as Sonic and Cyrus stared at him. Cyrus was finding the concept of Shadow being created rather then born difficult to grasp.

Maybe Gerald removed that ability when he created you! Sonic suggested. Or maybe your only half Werewolf!

Half Werewolf! It sounded like a stupid idea to Shadow. He looked the two companions. Maybe he'd have get used to the idea. Sonic was getting giggly again, his cheeks going red. Why does he always do that around him? Did he like him or something?

That news hit Shadow very hard, as he stared at his blue counterpart, his heart shell cracking again. Maybe Shadow liked him too. Wait? What? Did he just admit that! He hated that blue hedgehog with a passion sometimes. And yet... He sighed. He smiled.

But Cyrus broke their gaze. Can we go now? or is there something else we have to do? Sonic shook his head, but then it hit Shadow, extremely hard in the stomach. He didn't come to this place alone.

Tails! He panicked. He told the others what happened and Sonic also panicked. He rounded on Cyrus, for any idea as to where they may have taken him. Cyrus shook head, saying that there was little chance of his friend still being alive, being a normal Sapient. Sonic growled at him. He didn't believe him. With both Sonic and Shadow bearing down on him, he relented.

They may have taken him to the food store, but there is no guarantee he's still alive. He cried.

Can you take us there? Shadow asked, in a extremely cold, hard tone. They stared. Sonic didn't realise that Shadow voice could get any colder before today. It was scary.

Cyrus nodded. It would mean heading back to the main cavern. The last place he wanted to go. He was not happy about guiding them back there, but he was outnumbered two to one on the issue. There was something about those two. The bond they had, the way they worked together, it was something special. They had a deep fondness for each other and they could read each other so well, they didn't even need to speak.

'Useful.' Cyrus thought. 'Especially at the speeds they travel at.' He sighed, and looked back them as they followed him down the tunnels. He knew where they were now and could navigate back.

'The Speed.' He wondered. 'Where did they learn to do that?' Cyrus could only guess at that. They were two very usual werewolves, and he was glad they were on his side. They were good people. He noticed that they were already getting their strengths back, after the Detection Centre. He raised an eyebrow. That was fast. Who were these guys? Light and commotion ahead in the tunnel told Cyrus that they were near their goal. It had taken some time to get there. He indicated to his new friends to follow him and they headed around the edge of the tunnel as it opened out of the main cavern. They hid behind some nearby boulders. Cyrus had brought them out right at the base of the arena. The place was heaving with Werewolves. Cyrus figured every Werewolf in the colony was there as he saw the market beyond was deserted.

Cyrus gulped, there was only one reason this so many Werewolves would turn out in the arena. The Sapient Games. They would drag caught Sapients into the arena alive, and then promptly rip them to pieces, to great cheers, and eat them, seeing what fight they'd put up. Cyrus despised it, hated it with a passion. It was not his idea of fun. All of the Werewolves in the arena were all non-breeding males and total brutes, in his opinion. He wanted them gone, he wanted them dead. But looked like they hadn't gotten started yet. He looked around, there might be a chance.

He was looking for the Sapients, and spotted them whimpering in a small metal cage at the side of the arena. There were three of them, all male, non of them he knew. There was a hedgehog, a rabbit and a fox. He stared at the fox, he was the smallest of the three, crying his eyes out, his two tails sticking out of the bars of the cage.

'Two tails?' Cyrus thought raising an eyebrow. 'Never seen that before!' Then it hit him. Two tails... Tails! Could he be their missing friend? If it was, Cyrus knew he was extremely lucky to be alive this far, and he didn't know how long he had, as a mean looking Werewolf, opened the cage and dragged the rabbit into the arena. They watched in horror as he was slaughtered, to the cheers of the crowd. Cyrus indicated to Sonic and Shadow, that he had found their missing friend. They were reeling from the horror of what they had just seen. They stared at the cage and was horrified to see the Werewolf coming back, grabbing the hedgehog. Tails would be next. They didn't have much time. They could run out and grab the fox, but they would be pounced on by over a hundred Werewolves. They had to take them out somehow. Cyrus looked up at the vast expanse of the cavern and at the tunnel behind him. Then he had a brain ware. He looked at his new friends. They had the speed, they had the power. They could end it, here, today. The abuse, the rape. Get rid of the brutes permanently.

He grabbed them, and told them his idea. It was crazy, it was stupid and it just might work. They didn't have much time, as the cheers from arena told Cyrus, the hedgehog was dead.

But what about Tails? Sonic had asked.

I'll get him! Cyrus said, determined. Just do your thing!

Cyrus' plan was for them to use their speed to create a tornado inside the cavern and sweep up all of the Werewolves in the arena, and then throw them into a tunnel and somehow, using the sound barrier, collapse it in on top of them.

Shadow had raised an eyebrow at this idea. For sheer craziness, it was up there with one of Sonic's. He growled. After what had just seen, he wanted to bring the whole dam colony down on top of them. They were coming for Tails, it was now or never. He grabbed Sonic and ran down the tunnel for a short while before turning back. They were going to need a run up for this one.

Shadow swore and cursed using Thought Speech. Sonic stared. He had never heard language so blue on the black hedgehog before. Shadow noticed Sonic's discomfort.

You can hear my thoughts now, Hedgehog, deal with it! He smirked. Sonic looked down tunnel towards the arena, his chaos speed building. But he agreed with Shadow, he hated those Werewolves too. He looked back at his friend. Now he was ready.

I'm not a Hedgehog! He growled, his anger building and ran. With a combination of extreme chaos speed and temper, he exploded from where he stood, a Sonic Boom blasting out behind him, sending him forward. A second boom told Sonic that Shadow had mimicked him, and briefly they looked at each other. They knew the drill, they had done this before, and in perfect synchronisation, they rolled into a ball and span. The speed was mind blowing, and they blasted out of the tunnel, just as Tails was being dragged into the arena. Cyrus had to duck for cover, again, amazed at their shear power, as they ran past.

Tails squealed in delight when he saw them, and found the courage to try and free himself from his captor. Cyrus looked up at them, as be began to spin, creating the tornado. There was pandemonium. Panic spread among the Werewolves, as within seconds, the tornado really picked up some speed fast, and began lifting the Werewolves off the ground. The shear force of the tornado, began to shake the colony, like an earthquake, boulders began to fall all around them. Cyrus began to the see the heads of Werewolves thought the windows of the cavern. Timid Werewolves like him who believed this was wrong. He called out to them.

Help me! He hollowed. He knew most of them, they'd recognise his voice. There going to take them out! He added pointing to the tornado. It increased in speed and power, causing yet more shaking. More Werewolves were scoped up by it. Then they came, welding sticks and throwing stones. His friends, all like him had all suffered the abuse, and now they had a chance to win. They ganged up against those brutes in the arena, ensuring that every single last one of them was sucked into the tornado. Cyrus had ran in and grabbed Tails, telling him he was a friend, and took immense pleasure seeing Xander being drawn up be the tornado.

He looked up. They now they had all the Werewolves, shouldn't they be moving on. Cyrus screamed as the colony's shaking got so violently, it caused cracks in the cavern. If they didn't do something soon, they were going to bring the whole place down.

That was Shadow's doing, he was fuelled with so much anger that Sonic had real difficulty getting him to listen to him. He had seen Cyrus' friends join the fight, he didn't want to bring the colony down on them. They were good people.

Shadow! He screamed in his head. He could feel his speed beginning to slow, he didn't have much left in the tank. Time to go!.

Finally Shadow relented, and he moved towards him. Until that point, they had been at opposite ends of the tornado, spinning it. Now they came together, spinning alternatively within a matter of inches of each other. This was a extremely dangerous, one wrong move could be fatal, but it was incredibly effective. The resulting spin high in the air, drew the wind and the Werewolves up towards them. This meant that when they left, they took the wind and the Werewolves with them. The whole colony was still shaking, as they sped off down the tunnels. They turned left, then right, until they found what they were looking for, a dead end. They screeched to a halt, just before the dead end, and jumped to the side. The wind and the Werewolves came flying past, crashing into the rock. But neither Sonic or Shadow stopped to think of them, before their next move. They jumped into the air and span. Holding still for a moment, allowing the chaos speed to peak, they let it rip. Sonic booms rang out in that tunnel. Sonic, himself, when nuts. Pin balling around the walls of the tunnel at the speed of sound, sending booms everywhere, adrenaline getting the better of him.

The tunnel was shaking violently, it couldn't hold out for much longer. They it came crashing down, so fast and with such power, that Sonic and Shadow for forced to run for their lives. The main tunnel they were in collapsed, crashing down all around them, then a second and a third. All of the surrounding tunnels came down, as they had no choice to be head back to main cavern, bringing down with them a large section of the tunnel system. They screeched to a halt in the cavern. The tunnel behind them collapsing with boulders. The whole colony was still shaking, but it stood up to it and soon all was calm.

Sonic and Shadow were in heaps on the floor, the both of the them on their knees. It had taken every ounce of their strength to pull that off. Sonic looked at the tunnel they had entered the cavern from, it had caved in. Those brutes were gone, they had done it. It was no way in hell anyone could have survived that. Immortal or otherwise. Cyrus later confirmed that, after a party had been sent out to check, they were all dead. It was possible to kill Werewolves after all, if the situation was right, their immortality only lasted to a point. Sonic had never considered himself as a mass murderer, but Shadow shrugged it off, it was in a day's work for him. He cried, Shadow rounded on him.

Don't you dare shed a tear for those... He swore. His language blue again. They got everything coming to them!. He looked hard at him, his voice cold in his head.

Sonic looked back. Shadow was right, but it wasn't morally the right thing, and that's what got to him.

Drop it, Hedgehog, it was the right thing to do! scowled Shadow at him. All around them Werewolves were coming into the cavern, all of them like Cyrus, shy, timid and now free of the abuse and rape. They cheered, they celebrated. They helped Sonic and Shadow to their feet, hugged and embraced them was one of their own. Tails came running and wrapped his arms around Sonic. He almost collapsed again, in pain and exhaustion, Shadow grabbing him, holding him up. He smiled.

'What's with that guy?' Sonic puzzled. 'One minute, he's at your throat, the next, your best friend? What gives?' Sonic thought he had fathomed Shadow, but no, as the black hedgehog walked away from him, exhausted and limbing. Then he realised something.

Hey, I'm not a Hedgehog!

They stayed at the colony for about a few weeks, allowing Sonic and Shadow to gain their strengths back, but the diet of meat, was not to Shadow's taste. Tails was also struggling too, but Sonic was in his element, as he saw the colony took on a completely new feel. The Werewolves when back to going about their business, but now all of the brutes were gone, and most of the Werewolves were now non-breeding females. They now had the confidence to come out and socialise, now that it was safe, no more abuse, no more rape, no more Guard Chasers.

Cyrus came bursting through the door of his house, where they were all staying, saying that he had be elected as the Colony Leader. They were all delighted but then Cyrus remembered something. He looked to Sonic.

"You know how you said you going to get me out of here?"

Sonic nodded. Cyrus sighed. "I can't leave." He said. "My people need me now!"

Sonic smiled for Cyrus, but then looked disheartened. Cyrus realised what was going on.

"Your leaving, aren't you!" He asked. Sonic nodded again.

"I'm sorry, Cyrus, but I have to go back. My life is there, not here." Sonic really missed home, and his old friends.

"A Werewolf living among Sapients, I'd never have believed it." Cyrus smiled. He walked up and hugged and embraced his friend. "Don't forget us!" He added.

"I won't!" Sonic whispered back, crying. They had been through so much together, he was going to be missed.

Cyrus let go of Sonic and rounded on Shadow.

"You take care of him!" He said, glared at him. Shadow nodded, looking surprised. Tails giggled. There was something going on between those two, Cyrus was sure of it. They were way more than just friends.

The next morning, they bid their farewells and left. The Werewolves guided them through the tunnels, where they were eventually brought out into daylight, right on the edge of the desert. The squinted with the bright sunlight, as they headed for home, the three of them, leaving the colony far behind.

**Eggman**

Sonic thought a lot during the journey back, about the fact that he had been found, and what were his friends going to think of his new physic. He had grown a lot on the diet of meat, and was now bigger than Shadow, and a lot hairier. His canine teeth were now fully set in, with two centimetre long fangs top and bottom.

Shadow. He looked over to is black counterpart, who ran beside him, quietly concentrating on the road ahead. Sonic with Tails on his back. He couldn't understand why the black hedgehog would risk so much for him. Tails, yes, the little fox was young and naïve, and truly believed in everything Sonic did, but Shadow. No, there was more to it then that, and he was determined to find out what. They didn't use their full speeds for the journey back, and it was nightfall before they made it back to the small woodland, on the edge of the land that surrounds Tail's House.

Upon seeing it, he squealed, jumping off Sonic's back, taking to the air, spinning his tails, creating his helicopter, flying back home. He was eager to get there. There were lights on in the house, someone was waiting for them.

'Knuckles.' Sonic thought. 'Properly Amy, Cream and Cheese too.' He sighed, as he watched Tails run ahead of them, in the evening light. They had been walking through a woodland. His eyes fell on Shadow, his black form slightly difficult to make out in the darkness. He had been silent throughout the entire journey. Nothing. No even in Thought Speech. His eyes were staring into the distance, also watching Tails leaving them behind in the woodland. Sonic looked up at the House as Tails went in, and felt prickles of fear. He wasn't ready to got back, not just yet. He wanted to stay in the woodland.

Then he began to feel strange, very ill, very quickly. Huge pain came over him, in his stomach, and his head. He groaned, and he fell to knees, his hands on the ground. What was happening? There was someone by his side. Shadow was kneeling next to him, frowning at him, his black quills, with their red stripes, glinting in the moonlight. Sonic stared.

Moonlight! He whirled round, and raised his head. The full moon shone above them, a large bright disc of beautiful white light, lighting up the clear night sky. It shot nothing but fear, straight through Sonic's veins. He had completely lost track of time. He dropped his head to the ground, as he began to grow. He was transforming, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He 'inner wolf' charged forward in his mind.

Shadow watched in horror, as he saw his friend grow into a beast four times his size. He had grown, again. He was forced to back off as Sonic's arms began to bulge, growing long claws. His legs elongating, re-jointing, growing paws and claws, his shoes disappearing. His tail grew, swaying in the wind, as long fur sprouted all over his body, including his quills. His muzzle grew and the teeth filled out, long four centimetre fangs, top and bottom, sticking out of his mouth. Sonic was exhausted as the transformation finished, collapsing on the ground. It had happened faster, then last time, and was a lot less painful, but he still wasn't used to it. He closed his eyes, breathing heavily on the ground. Then he heard it. Deep inside his mind, of a now familiar voice of someone who was still there.

Sonic?

Shadow was still reeling from watching Sonic's transformation and now his mind had come full circle. He first saw Sonic as the wolf, and then turn back to normal. Now he was wolf again, but Shadow didn't know what to do. He never saw Sonic transform before, this was the first time and now he had the mighty beast lying in front of him of the ground, his eyes shut. Shadow was desperate to see those eyes, he wanted to know if Sonic was still behind them, like before. He looked down the beast, saw the muscles ripple down its huge body, under the long, dark grey fur. He smiled, he couldn't help himself, as he heart shell now chris-crossing with cracks, sending emotional tears down his face. It didn't pain him and he could feel the his compassion coming through for Sonic. He was absolutely beautiful.

The wolf didn't move, he lay there, eyes closed. Shadow frowned, he was beginning to get worried.

Sonic? He asked again. Despite Sonic's beauty, he was very large and dangerous, and Shadow respected that. He knelt about a metre away, holding out his hand, calm and steady. He had no idea how the wolf would react. He waited.

Sonic's head was spinning. His 'inner wolf' gnawed at him to get up and get moving. He roared, and got up so quickly, that he made Shadow jump back. Everything was blurry, but Sonic felt his 'inner wolf' began be growl, as his nose filled with the smell, the smell of another werewolf. After what he had been through in the colony, he didn't want them to come back for him. Whoever he was, Sonic wanted him gone. Sonic looked around for his rival. He couldn't see him in the fuzzy darkness.

Shadow was surprised to see Sonic growling at him. Those green eyes staring at him. They looked somewhat blank and confused. Shadow began to panic. Sonic was not lost behind those eyes, he had to believe that. Maybe he just didn't recognise him. He had to keep trying.

Sonic? He said again, as softly as he could.

That voice, Sonic knew it, but where? How was it able to get so deep inside his mind? Only another werewolf could do that. He head was still spinning, he still wanted that werewolf gone.

Hey! Hedgehog, snap out of it! The voice now spat, and it brought Sonic back to his senses. Only one person ever called him that. Shadow. He was still here, he was the werewolf. Now he understood. He closed his eyes, and shook his head. He opened his eyes and looked around for his friend, things were getting clearer. He saw him, just, in the darkness. His dark form still difficult to make out. He was kneeling a short distance away from him, his hand held out firm. Sonic stared at it, he sniffed at it. He wanted to take it, his 'inner wolf' did too. But he was scared, he didn't want to hurt him. Shadow must have seen his fear. He smiled, and Sonic thought he saw sparkles in those eyes.

Come on! He encouraged. His smiled broadened. He understood why the wolf was frightened, but he trusted him. Nothing was going to happen.

But I don't want to hurt you! Sonic whimpered, still scared. He saw Shadow roll his eyes.

You won't! He said, so sternly, that Sonic believed him. He ran forwards and took Shadow's hand on his forehead. He purred, it felt so good. He felt another hand come around and scratch his ear, sending tingles down his spin. He was jumping for joy, he had never felt so happy, his 'inner wolf' licking like crazy.

Shadow was finding himself getting very wet, very quickly, as the wolf tried to lick him to death. He didn't care at that moment, he was extremely happy had his friend was still with him.

They shared this moment, like two friends who haven't seen each other in a while, greeting for the first time. Shadow could feel the wolf's power, and felt his own instinct's begin to come forward. He let them. He now knew what they were now, those new instincts. His own werewolf instinct's, his 'inner wolf'. He realised that they weren't as strong as Sonic's as he wasn't a full werewolf, but now an accepted part of him. He smiled at Sonic as he closed his eyes, lost in the pleasure of Shadow's stroking him on his head.

Then it came, it smashed their moment into pieces and caused them to stare at each other. A blood curlicuing scream from the house.

Tails!

Shadow was just about to run, but Sonic stopped him.

Get on! He said, indicating with his head to his back. They stared at each other for a moment, Sonic stood on all fours. He was so large that his head was level with Shadow's as he stood opposite to him. But Sonic was sure of what he was doing. The black hedgehog was heavy but he was sure he could take his weight. He felt like he had grown since the last full moon. Shadow looked back uncertain, he had never ridden the back of another animal before.

Are you sure? He asked, a frown on his face, lips unmoving. Sonic was getting annoyed at him, he was eager to get moving.

Yes! He said. I can take it! He stared back at his black hedgehog, why could he be so difficult sometimes?

Shadow thought. He wasn't sure about the idea, but when a second scream from the house rang out, Shadow made up his mind. He placed a hand on Sonic's huge shoulder, and with a leg up, jumped onto his back. It felt very strange, as he placed his hands on the back of Sonic's beefy neck and his feet on his hips, he could feel him breathing, beneath him. The werewolf's power was immense. And yet it felt right. Shadow felt his 'inner wolf' come forwards in his mind, and adjust his position on Sonic's back, as the huge Werewolf began to run. Shadow was amazed, as he began to sway in perfect time to Sonic movements as they ran. It felt so easy, as he noticed the Werewolf respond to the slightest movements of his hands on his neck. Only now did Shadow realise just how fast the Werewolf could run, and understood why he had had so much trouble tracking him down. He smiled, this felt fantastic. They were as one, wolf and rider, and heading towards Tails' House fast.

Sonic ran, Shadow on his back. Despite the hedgehog's immense weight, he felt very light, and a joy to carry. He seemed to know him, his movements, and how to get the best out of him. He could feel Shadow's hand on his neck, a firm grip, not painful, but they moved to Shadow's will. Sonic knew what to do, or rather his 'inner wolf' did, responding to those movements obediently, at they ran towards the house. They didn't speak, they didn't need too. They were both running on instinct, and an unbreakable bond, formed from something special.

As the house approached, they saw something on the roof. Sonic jumped. Shadow held on as Sonic catapulted himself from the ground to the roof of the house, in a single bound. Sonic landed on the roof, on all fours, sliding to a halt, and what he saw, made both he and Shadow growl.

Eggman. He had found them.

He was laughing, and Sonic hated him with every ounce of his being. He was sat in a cockpit, high in the body of a large, ugly looking, ten legged robot, which stood way above the house. Four of the feet were on the ground, and other four were held in the air, and two sticking out of the front. In each of the feet, wrapped tightly in metal, where each of his friends. Tails and Cream were screaming, be waved about side to side, Amy was crying, extremely frightened, and there was Knuckles. He was limb and lifeless. He was unconscious. He looked like he'd put up a fight. Eggman had caught them completely off guard, but at what price. Sonic wanted his head. But he wasn't the only one. He could feel Shadow's anger building, through his hands on his neck. He felt more one with the hedgehog then ever, as Eggman made a break for it, as he robot on four feet began to stride out across the countryside.

Shadow was still on his back, and swiftly kicked him the ribs. Not hard, but Sonic knew what it meant. Time to get moving. With a roar, Sonic surged forwards and jumped from the roof, and landing on the ground with a thump. Barely staying on the feet, Sonic with all his might, ran after Eggman, Shadow still clinging on to his back. The robot was surprising fast, its long strides, eating up the landscape, with every pace. Each foot hitting the ground with such force, that it shook the earth, each of the three toes, slicing the rocks to pieces. Sonic rang along the ground behind the monster machine, Shadow steering him left and right avoiding those massive feet, as they smashed into the ground.

It was obvious that Eggman hadn't seen them. He was more interested in taking his new quarry back to his base. They had to stop him. Sonic had to get his attention. The machine was moving to fast to jump onto the body, even though Sonic could make it. Then it hit him, he had a brain wave. He put of bust of speed, and to Shadow's surprise, the ran past the robot and almost stopped, turned back on it. Eggman still hadn't seen them.

Shadow frowned. What are you doing?. There was anger in the voice in Sonic's mind.

We need to get his attention. Sonic said hurriedly. Trust me! he added, as he took a deep breathe. He filled his lungs as full as they would go, and gripped the ground with the claws on his front paws. Sonic's 'inner wolf' took the lead as he lifted his head into the air, pointing his nose to the sky, pursing his lips.

Shadow was really confused. What was the werewolf doing? They had to move. Then he heard it. The Howl. The loud but crisp, beautiful single tone that came from Sonic's muzzle rang out across the landscape, the most wonderful note that Shadow had ever heard, in his life. Emotions filled Shadow, as tears ran down his face, his heart shell cracking right to the very bottom. He was falling more and more for the werewolf everyday.

'No time for that now!' Shadow thought. He shook himself as Eggman stopped and rounded on them. He finally saw them. He looked confused, unsure of what he was seeing. He saw Shadow astride a mighty beast, the both of them growling. One set of red eyes and one green were glaring at him, angry. He knew those green eyes. Then he realised. Sonic! He'd thought his arch nemesis had abandoned his friends. What had happened to him? Eggman didn't much care as they ran towards him. If they wanted a fight. He'd give them one.

With incredible speed and power, Sonic sped forwards towards the mechanical monster, still grasping his friends. He felt Shadow steer him to run dead straight at the robot. He felt him lift his hands off his neck, a foot moving from his hip to the small of his back, between his shoulders, the other to the base. Shadow had stood up, still swaying to Sonic's movements, perfectly balanced. He could feel Shadow's chaos speed build up fast, he knew what the black hedgehog was going to do. Spin Attack. Jumping off Sonic's back, spinning and dive bombing Eggman. A firm favourite. The more power he could give Shadow the better, as Sonic bolted towards Eggman. A front leg of the robot came surging towards them. Sonic jumped, and Shadow let it rip. He span and sped off into the sky, as the robot toppled backwards, but stayed on its feet. More three clawed feet came pelting towards Sonic as he ran along the ground, he dodged them, trying to get close enough to the cockpit, to jump onto it.

He ran left, then right, trying to get to the cockpit but without much luck. Those clawed feet just kept coming. He now had cuts in his ribs and legs. They were getting close. Too close. He needed a create a gap, a chance the to break through, to reach the cockpit. Tails and Cream was still screaming. He heard Shadow whizzing around in the sky above him, what he really needed was him to hit Eggman squarely between his front legs, distracting him long enough, for Sonic to jumped to the cockpit. After dodging three more clawed feet attacks, he howled and barked at Eggman, and prayed.

Shadow span through the air, ripped with anger. He hated Eggman now more then ever, for attacked Sonic and his friends. They had now accepted him was one of their own, and that meant a lot to Shadow. He dived bombed Eggman, again and again, getting angrier with each attack. Then he heard it, the howling and barking from far below him.

Sonic! At first, he feared the worse, but a glimpse at the ground, mid spin, saw Sonic was at stale mate with Eggman, dodging the attacking feet, unable to get through. Shadow smirked. He knew what was needed. He curved his attack round, and allowing the anger to consume him, he aimed for the front legs of that hideous machine. With incredible speed, Shadow rushed at Eggman, dodging all flying feet as they came towards him. He roared.

Sonic saw Shadow come rushing down, he felt delighted, but had to quickly concentrate. Sonic whirled around and ran for the cockpit, he knew that Shadow's impact would only give a split second gap to break through to the cockpit, he had to be ready.

Shadow hit he target dead centre, Sonic smiled, he expected nothing less from the black hedgehog. The robot toppled backwards, its feet flailing. He saw a gap and jumped. One of the claws of the feet, hit Sonic in the side of the enormous werewolf body, as he sailed through the air. He screamed, but kept moving, and landed with a crash on top of the cockpit. From within, Eggman panicked, and for a brief moment, the two enemies looked at each other. Sonic didn't think, as he immediately ripped at the cockpit, metal crunching and glass smashing. Again and again, Sonic clawed at the cockpit, keen to get at the prey within, Shadow spin attacking the robot from all sides. It was beginning to malfunction. It was swaying badly, the robot was going down.

Sonic roared in anger, completely loosing control, he wanted Eggman, he wanted his head. But he didn't see it coming. One of the clawed feet had curved back round and aimed itself at the cockpit. Without warning, one of the mechanical feet's long claws hit Sonic square in the back, cracking his ribcage, piercing his heart. Blood poured from his back, as Sonic's eyes when wide, as extreme pain filled him. He screamed as he felt body being thrown around like a rag doll, as the clawed foot grabbed him. He felt himself hitting the ground hard, loud commotion from behind him, then a giant explosion. He knew that explosion, Shadow had lost it completely with Eggman with a Chaos Blast, most likely blowing the robot to pieces. He smiled, typical Shadow, never subtle about anything.

But then the darkness came, as he lost consciousness, his heart failing. His head began to spin, and then he fell down the dark bottomless pit. He closed his eyes. He was gone.

Sonic didn't know how long he fell, but after what felt like an age, he began slowing. Light filled the world around him, as his mind began to return to his body. He could feel his hands and feet, his head was throbbing but rich smells filled his nose. Familiar scents that he hadn't smelled in a very long time. He heart leaped, he knew them. There were sounds in the background all around him, muffled at first, but slowly became clearer.

Voices. Familiar voices, talking about him.

"Do you think he'll be alright?" One voice asked.

"Well, he was technically dead, so you tell me!" Another spat back.

Dead! Sonic gulped. He hadn't realised he's heart had stopped. So this was what death felt like. It didn't feel like much as the voices were getting clearer, but he couldn't make them out yet.

"I don't know how!" Said a third voice. "But he's coming back, he's healing like nothing I've never seen before. He's an immortal!" There was shock in that voice.

Sonic rolled his eyes, it made sense, and he had forgotten again. All Werewolves were immortal, well to a point, and Sonic still hadn't found his limit. He hoped that he was never going to either. But he wasn't concerned about himself. He remembered the explosion, he was more concerned about his friends, did they make it out.

'Guys!' Sonic thought. 'I'm here, I'm alright, did you get out?' He called out in his mind. Nothing. He was alone in emptiness, which was getting lighter, but still extremely lonely. He cried.

'Guys?' He stammered. Guys?. Sonic didn't realise he used Thought Speech for the last word until someone responded.

Sonic?

That voice deep in his mind again. He knew that voice, a voice that had been with him ever since this whole werewolf thing started.

Shadow! He cried, as he bolted upright. His heard screams as he world came into view very quickly. He looked around. He was sat in his bed in his room, sunlight pouring in through the window. He felt gloves on his hands, shoes on his feet, his arms and legs aching. He teeth has shrank down to size and his royal blue fur coat short and mattered in the daylight. He was back to normal. How long had he been out? He didn't know as he moved and felt an unbearable pain in his back where the claw had gone in, and realised that he was covered in bandages. Then he felt something grab him and hug him, arms wrapped round him. Sonic felt wet as tears fell. Sonic looked down, it was Tails. He smiled.

"Hi!" He stammered, his voice extremely cracked. He looked up. Amy, Cream and Cheese and Knuckles were all stood in his room looking at him. Now he had found the source of the voices. But someone was missing. But who? Sonic couldn't think as they spoke to him. He saw Knuckles rolls his eyes, smiling.

"Man, I thought you were a goner!" He exclaimed. Sonic shook his head. He smirked.

"It takes more then that to take me down." He said, voice cracking. Then he remembered. "The explosion. Are you guys alright?" He looked around. Knuckles raised his hand to calm him.

"We're fine. Shadow finished him off. Man, I have never seen that guy loose it so badly. When you went down. He thought you were dead, we all did!" Sonic gulped. The two girls were in front of him, shaking. Were they frightened of him? Tails silently clucking his middle, also scared. Then it hit him, Shadow, thats who was missing. He looked around for him. Cried out using Thought Speech. Nothing, he was gone. Sonic was about to get up to look for him, when Knuckles rounded on him.

"How did you do it? How did you come back?!" They all stared at him. Sonic knew the answer. He bit his lip. He had to tell them. He was scared, he didn't believe his friends would accept him after everything that had happened. After all the years of lying. But they wanted answers, and he owed them that. Tears began to rolls down his face.

"I'm a Werewolf!" He cried. They all looked at him, he thought he saw them laugh. He stopped them.

"No, seriously, a real one!" He stared. They stared back. Then he told them everything, the Serum, the syringes, the transformations, the fear and panic it bought, the clearing in the forest, to the colony and what happened there. They listened in disbelieve to his story. Sonic panicked, if they didn't believe him, it meant that he was going back to the colony. Sonic didn't want that, there were good people at the colony, but this was his home. He didn't want to leave. Tears were streaming down his face.

"I didn't mean to lie!" He stammered to them. "I was scared of what you would do to me!" He cried.

Knuckles walked up to the bed, and pushed Tails aside, he had made up his mind. He knew what the books said about Werewolves, and right now he didn't care. Up until recently, he had wanted Sonic gone. After the incident with the syringes back when this whole thing started, he believed Sonic a traitor, for lying to him all these years. But now, after the loyalty and self-sacrifice Sonic had shown for him and his friends, despite what happened to him. Knuckles had decided that he was a person worth fighting for, no matter what creature he was. He had forgiven him. He was not one of those bloodthirsty, killing machines, Knuckles was certain of that. But what concerned him now was that his friend was alright and that was all that mattered. He grabbed Sonic and hugged him. Sonic frowned.

"You don't hate me?" He asked confused. Knuckles smiled. He shook his head.

"Hate you, why would I hate you? I'm just glad your alright." He looked at Sonic, putting a hand under his chin, lifting his head up to look at his long fangs, which were protruding slightly from his mouth. He whistled.

"But a bit more honesty before today wouldn't have gone a miss. Did you really think I'd kick you out?" He added. Sonic went red embarrassed. He nodded. Knuckles laughed.

"You, seriously underestimate me! I knew it was you all along! When I first saw you transform, I didn't believe my eyes. Yes, I'd read the stories about Werewolves. You are not one of those brutes and I couldn't believe I'd been living with one all these years." Sonic went even redder. "But then you defended us like that, when Jet attacked, and the story from Tails at the colony, your still you, no matter what creature you are." Sonic stared, still red, embarrassed. Knuckles still believed in him, Sonic wasn't sure if he still believed in him. His thoughts rested on Jet. He vaguely remembered Jet, and asked what happened.

"He's fine, but won't be tinkering with Werewolf Serum anymore." Knuckles smirked. They all laughed. Then he realised something.

"You know, I don't understand is why Shadow got so heavily involved. He had nothing to gain from this." Sonic stared. Knuckles did have a point. Why did Shadow get involved? He was glad he did, both he and Tails owed him their lives. He asked what happened to him.

Tails sighed. "After we bought you back here, he was really upset. I've never seem him get so emotional. When we thought you were gone, he lost it completely, couldn't believe it. Keep asking to bring you back, to keep trying. He'd said he'd fought for you this hard, he wasn't going to loose you. But when we failed to bring you back, he stormed off out into the woodland. That was a few days ago, and we haven't seen him since."

Sonic gulped again, the black hedgehog really did care for him after all. Sonic cheeks when very red. Knuckles shifted on the bed next to Sonic, eyeing him.

"Is there something going on between you two?" He asked, arms folded. Sonic looked at Amy, she wasn't going to like it. He nodded. Eyes still streaming with tears,

"I'm sorry, Amy." Sonic said. "There was never any us. My heart belongs to someone else."

That news when down like a bombshell with his friends, worse then being a Werewolf. Sonic had been so worried about them finding out that he was a Werewolf, that he hadn't stopped to consider how they would react to his interest in Shadow. It was worse then he could have imagined. Amy cried her heart out, storming off downstairs, quickly followed Cream, Cheese and Tails. Sonic was left very shaken by that, that he didn't notice that Knuckles was still in the room with him. Of all his friends to object to him and Shadow, Sonic thought that Knuckles would be one of the worst. But he stood there, smiling however. Sonic didn't understand. He asked Knuckles for an explanation. He laughed.

"Before a few days ago, I would have reacted like that too. But when we brought you in, the way Shadow reacted, it was like he cared about you, really cared about you. I didn't think someone like him was capable of something like that, plus the way you look at him, its all over your face." Sonic went red again. Was he really that transparent?

Knuckles shifted slightly, he wasn't truly comfortable with the idea, but he thought he'd give them a chance to make it work.

"I guess maybe two guys can really can love each other." Knuckles sighed. Sonic laughed. He stared.

"I'm not exactly a 'guy'!" Sonic said. Now Knuckles really stared. He smiled, making him swear not to tell anyone, he told him about the unusual arrangement of the Werewolves gender setup. About breeding and non-breeding Werewolves and the differences between them, telling him about being a non-breeding female. Knuckles was dumbfounded at the story, it was incredibly far fetched. Werewolves were really weird. He didn't believe him until Sonic stood up out of bed, and he saw the lack of male groin for himself. He laughed. Sonic stared.

"You couldn't have gotten together with Amy, even if you wanted to." He giggled. Sonic shook his head. Knuckles felt a bit better about Sonic and Shadow now. With Sonic being a 'female' roughly speaking, it felt a little more natural. Then Knuckles realised something.

"Does he know?" Sonic didn't need to ask who he was talking about. He hadn't told his friends about Shadow being a Werewolf. In his opinion, it wasn't his place to tell them. But he hadn't told Shadow about his strange gender arrangement either. What would he think of it? Sonic had no idea, and felt very scared. He knew Shadow. He would swing one of two directions on the issue, either accept it or shoot him. Both extremes of the scale. The latter, frightened him. He shook his head at Knuckles.

"Then you'd better get out there and tell him!" Knuckles joked, pointing to the window. Sonic stared.

"Why are you helping me?" He asked. This was out of character for Knuckles. He smiled.

"Because I can see that you have both suffered long enough over this, over the last few weeks, you need to start talking to each other. He cares about you, you need to have faith in him." Knuckles frowned. He never thought he'd say that about Shadow. Sonic continued to look at him.

"Don't worry about the Tails and the girls, I'll just explain that your a Werewolf, and that your different, and this is what Werewolves do!" He said, gesturing with his hand. "Give them time, their'll get used it." Sonic went very red, as he smiled. Knuckles was one incredible friend at times, far beyond his years in experience. He smirked.

"Didn't I say to get out there!" Knuckles said again gesturing to the window. "I don't know where he went, but he was pity upset when he left. I'm worried about him." Sonic raised an eyebrow at Knuckles. He smiled embarrassed. Knuckles worried about Shadow. That was a first. But he did have a point, as Sonic looked out of the window, taking off his bandages. He was fully healed now, he didn't need them anymore. He saw an orange glow out through the window, that seemed to cut across the land outside. He asked Knuckles what is was.

"A Shield. Tails built it. It covers the whole house. Don't want Eggman coming back again, now that he knows we're here. Don't worry, Tails has programmed it to let anything apart from Eggman pass through it. We can still come and go as we please." He said. Sonic sighed. The kid fox's inventions never stopped amazing him. They were safe for now.

When Sonic left his room and when downstairs, he found the place empty. Tails and the girls had left. He knew he'd have to confront them again, but that was for another time. Knuckles came downstairs behind him and went into the kitchen, sitting at the breakfast bar. He indicated to the front door, encouraging Sonic to go. Sonic had to go, he had to find his black knight in shining armour, they had been through too much together. Was he alright? Sonic didn't know as he ran for door, and with a last look back at Knuckles, opened it and ran through it, out into the garden, through the shield, and onwards towards the woodlands, on the edge of Tails' land.

**Two Hearts, One Soul**

Shadow was in agony. Why? Why was the world being so cruel to him? He'd ran from house in such heartache that he only made it as far as the nearby woodlands, where Sonic had transformed a few days ago. He collapsed. He was screaming. Death was an odd thing to Shadow, he could kill a stranger and think nothing of it, but if it was someone he knew who died, someone he cared about, it crucified him. He'd taken Maria's death infamously badly and now Sonic. He'd brought the mighty Werewolf back to Tails' House only to find him gone. He'd checked and rechecked him, there was no heartbeat. He'd fought so hard for him, so hard to find him, but after everything that had happened, only to loose him at the last minute. He curled into a ball on the ground, closed his eyes and screamed again.

This was where his curiosity for the new and the different had gotten him. This much heartache. He vowed to never do it again. He cared for that blue werewolf, more then he realised. He'd grown very fond of the hedgehog, he was his rival, his equal. There were very few people that Shadow considered his equal. He mourned his passing. His heart shell groaned. It was heavily fractured, on the verge of shattering. His compassion was beginning to pour out, in love for the blue werewolf. He prayed, he didn't want to shatter, not now, not when his beloved was gone, he couldn't handle the grief. Thats what happened with Maria, that why he never got over her death. He loved her too much. He tried desperately to harden himself against it. He was stronger then this, sealing his heart away inside its shell again, never to break free, cold forever. He had to move on. He lay there, shaking, for what felt like an age before he heard it.

Sonic ran into the woodlands, the sunlight beaming down on him and looked around. This was the last place he'd spent any time with Shadow. The trees were quiet and blowing in the wind. All was still. Sonic frowned as he looked around.

'He's not here!' He thought, feeling disheartened. The black hedgehog would be long gone by now. Yet his 'inner wolf' was telling him otherwise. Did he know something, he didn't? Sonic given up trying to understand his 'inner wolf' a long time ago, and had just learned to trust it. He gritted his teeth, and continued looking around. If Shadow was still here, he was going to find him.

Sonic called Shadow's name was he wondered around. The woodlands were not that large, he had to have heard him. His voice rang out across the empty woodlands, his vocal cord creating sound that sliced the air around him. Nothing. He was beginning to loose faith in his werewolf instincts. Shadow was not here.

But they still disagreed. What was with his 'inner wolf'? Why was it being so stubborn? He sighed. Shadow had been one incredible friend, recently. To lay down his life for him, and ask for nothing in return, amazed Sonic. What was going on with him? Why did he care so much about him? Did he care as much for Sonic and Sonic cared about him? Sonic's heart leapt at the thought. He would be a dream come true, if he did. But he shook his head. No, Shadow was not interested like that. Memories began to surface of their time together in the colony, when he realised something.

Ever since Shadow had learned how to use Thought Speech, he had never used his vocal cords with him. It was not his style. Shadow was such a quiet, conservative hedgehog, that Sonic could see how Thought Speech would suit him. Sonic sighed and concentrated. It was worth a try, a last attempt to find him before moving on. He closed his eyes, feeling the wind on his face. He formed the word in his mind, and projected it, not loudly, but as far around him as it would go, hoping he would be heard.

Shadow.

Shadow heard his name inside his mind. Sonic's voice was back to haunt him.

'Not again!' He cried in his thoughts.

LEAVE ME ALONE! He screamed with his mind, with all his might. Shadow couldn't take this anymore.

The Thought Speech was so loud it rang very painfully in Sonic's mind. Shadow was here after all but where? He looked desperately for him. he realised that Shadow was an expert at hiding in the shadows. He could be anywhere. Sonic didn't give up, as he continued walking.

Shadow.

Sonic's voice rang inside his head again. He curled his ball even tighter, screwing up his eyes. Dam the 'Powers That Be' for tormenting him, like this. Hadn't he suffered enough. Yes, he had done evil deeds in his time, but he had also done his penance. Why can't they leave this old hedgehog be?

Shadow. I'm here. I'm alive. Sonic called. He realised that Shadow may have believed him to be dead. Why else would be take off like this.

Shadow was shaking.

'Your dead.' He spat in his thoughts. 'I watched you die!'

It takes more then that to kill me! Sonic said cheerily in his mind, as he walked under a tree. He was hiding the desperation in his heart of not finding Shadow.

Shadow rolled his eyes.

'Of all the insolence, little...!' Shadow cursed in his thoughts. 'How could be so arrogant?' Only an immortal was that arrogant, and that was his job. Then it hit him, hard. This had been happening a lot to Shadow recently, as revelation after revelation keep coming in and kicking him hard in the stomach, for being so stupid. He'd kept calling Sonic a 'Hedgehog', mainly out of habit. But he wasn't a Hedgehog, he was a Werewolf, and Werewolves were...! It was like someone had just thrown a bucket of cold water over Shadow, he moved so quickly. He was up on his feet and running before he could stop himself.

'Immortal' He gasped in his thoughts, then he rolled his eyes. 'How could he be so stupid, it was obvious!' He'd read the books, all the signs were there that Sonic would come back. His injuries were not severe enough to permanently down him. Yes, it would have killed a 'mere mortal' but a Werewolf, no. He just didn't see it. Sonic was right, it would have taken more then that to kill him. Shadow cursed at himself.

Now Sonic had come for him. Shadow stopped.

'He had come for him!' Shadow thought, tears beginning to roll down his face, his heart shell straining under the fracturing. Sonic really did care. His heart was desperate to get out, desperate to get free. It had been a prisoner for far too long.

Sonic! Shadow called with his mind, as he ran through the woodlands.

Shadow! Hearing his voice in his mind. It was such a relief to Sonic, and he began to run, not really looking where he was going, desperate to find him.

Shadow turned to the main path in the woodlands just as the sun was setting on the horizon, and saw him in the fading daylight. His long blue fur coat was blowing in the wind, as he ran across the path in front of him, the sleek body with its well defined muscles, propelling him forward, his shark blue quills blowing out behind him. He was alive, and he looked fine. Shadow's heart shell heaved again, more tears fell.

Sonic! He cried, and saw the blue werewolf skidded to a halt in the centre at of the path. For a brief moment, they looked at each other. They had finally found one another. Then they ran, straight into each other's arms. They hugged.

Shadow's heart shell smashed to pieces the moment he felt Sonic's embrace. His heart was now beating freely in his chest, pouring compassion into every cell of his body. He fell for the blue werewolf, holding him close, never wanting to let go. Sonic was beside himself, he finally had his Shadow, and he wasn't running for the hills. He embraced the black hedgehog with all the love in the world. He kissed him.

Shadow's grip on him was firm, not painful, as they shared this moment. He never wanted it to end and didn't back off. Sonic didn't understand. Why wasn't Shadow put off by this? Sonic thought Shadow hated him.

Shadow was beside himself, the werewolf loved him back, he could feel it in his embrace. Nobody had ever loved him back, not even Maria. He pulled Sonic very close to him. He wanted him. He wanted to be with him.

They hugged and embraced so much that their bellies were touching and Sonic could feel Shadow's enormous male groin pouch up again his pelvis. He panicked. Shadow stopped and let him go as soon he felt Sonic's fear. He frowned. There wasn't an issue as far was he could see.

Problem? Shadow asked automatically with his mind, smiling. The Thought Speech such a part of him now, that it was his preferred method of communication. The werewolf looked beautiful in the darkness. But Sonic was in tears.

I can't do this! He exclaimed.

'What?' Shadow thought, he didn't understand. The werewolf was perfect as far as he could see, his compassion getting the better of him, deeply in love with him now.

What? He asked. Sonic lowered his head. Shadow frowned. What? He asked again. Nothing. Shadow sighed.

Tell me! He smiled, he now hated seeing something so beautiful, this upset. Sonic looked up at those dark crimson red eyes, they were sparkling at him. He couldn't resist them.

I'm not normal! He squealed. Shadow folded him arms looking at him, rolling his eyes.

Yeah! He said. And! Shadow already knew this and didn't care. Heck, he wasn't normal, himself. This had never been an issue before so why was it one now? He frowned at the blue werewolf.

But I'm not exactly a 'guy'! Sonic squealed again. But Shadow, as it happens, had noticed. He'd first noticed it in the Werewolf Colony, in the tunnels, just after they had recused him. Sonic's scent had changed. He hadn't understood what it meant until he met the other Werewolves later on, and saw the different types of non-breeding Werewolves for himself. So Sonic was a non-breeding female type werewolf who couldn't reproduce. He'd found this out by asking around in the colony. He was different. So was he. Gerald Robotnik had removed his ability to breed too. No idea why? They were in the same boat. He believed then, as now, that this was a minor issue.

So what! He remembered his curiosity for the new and the different. This was certainly that.

Shadow put a hand on his shoulders to calm him. Sonic stared.

Wait! You knew. He said amazed. Shadow smirked and nodded. And your still here! Sonic added. Shadow rolled his eyes at the blue werewolf.

Of course I knew, I'm a Werewolf, I can smell it on you! Sonic went red. And as for still being here, despite the weirdness. He added.

He told Sonic about his fascination with the new and the different. Sonic had to admit, he definitely fit that description. It explained a lot. It explained why he was still there. The crescent moon was high in the sky, on this warm, dry evening, as the two hedgehogs hugged, kissed and embraced again. They'd had one hell of an adventure getting to this point, and more adventures lay ahead of them as their relationship formed. Together hand in hand, they began to make they way back to Tails' House, it looked like a large orange on the landscape with that stupid shield. Sonic laughed, it did look silly but if it did its job, and kept Eggman out, then they could put up with it. A breeze blow across them as they walked up the hill, as Sonic's 'inner wolf' was jumping about for joy. He couldn't help but bound along the ground, inviting to Shadow to join him.

Two Lycans playing in the wind.

A Sonadow Fanfiction S. M. Williams  



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